Falling
by MrsEm
Summary: Spock joined Starfleet in defiance of his Father's culture, McCoy joined Starfleet because he had nothing left and Kirk joined Starfleet on a dare. Corriene Lees joined Starfleet because when she saw the devastation that came with Khan's attack she knew she had no other choice. We all have our reasons for starting something, whether that motive stays the same remains to be seen.
1. Chapter 1

**Falling**

As the brutal onslaught of torpedo's and the full supremacy of the enemy ship's phaser banks continued to hit the Enterprise the crew did their best to simply stay on their feet and stay alive. Decks five through eight had all but been destroyed and in the gaping holes of warped and twisted black metal, where the force fields that prevented people being sucked out into space were activated, they were dangerously close to failing. A lone Ensign stood looking out at the blackness, his eyes glazed with horror. In the expanse of space he could see the figures of his friends, frozen and pained, slowly drifting away to be eventually vaporised by a nearby sun. He was unable to move, even with the men and women running by him, shouting and hollering at each other. The reality of war and death was something he wasn't ready for and he knew he would never be able to rid himself of the visions from his mind.

For most, the loss of life was too much to comprehend in that moment as each and every person set about ensuring all procedures were followed, all systems were operational and no further damage was done. Shouts could be heard from each function, orders were sent from one deck to another. Communications were circulated from the bridge one after the other after the other. The only indication to most of the crew as to whether or not they were winning the battle was the number of direct hits and the lurching to and fro of the ship.

The majority of decisions were carried out by the computers, by artificial intelligence. Human's had realised long ago their own limitations, they knew they couldn't move as fast, think as fast and respond as fast as AI. Still, when it came to it, there was still a Captain of the ship, it was a battle of wills between the hero and the enemy. Captain James T. Kirk didn't believe in no win scenarios, he could read every move of his adversary. He had no qualms with sacrificing the lives of his crew if necessary to triumph. He was also hyper aware of his own hypocrisy, risking his own life for the sake of a single sole on many an occasion.

* * *

"Kirk to Meloy." He waited for the response, but it didn't come. "Who else is responsible for the antimatter storage pods Mister Spock?" He threw over his shoulder.

"Lieutenant Lees Captain." Spock answered efficiently.

"Kirk to Lees." He again waited impatiently.

"Yes Captain?" He heard her voice through the system, it was strained and tired.

"Where's Meloy?"

"He's dead Captain." Kirk didn't have a moment to think, shifting in his chair he refocussed.

"Lees, you've just inherited Meloy's position. I need more power to the inertial dampners and shields!" The ship was struck as he spoke and Kirk had to use all his strength to stay in his seat. "NOW Lees!" He shouted.

"Captain, I strongly advise we go to warp." Spock interrupted.

"No Captain! We can't go to warp! We don't have the power, if we don't stay idle we'll lose the force fields." Corriene's voice echoed around the Bridge, Kirk looked at Spock who simply raised an eyebrow.

"What do you need to do Lees to get me warp power?" Kirk asked.

"The dilithium conduits have been destroyed, I need to repair those before the matter antimatter interaction units can come back on line."

"Do it Lees!" Kirk commanded.

"Aye Captain." Corriene Lees set off in a sprint, her feet skidding across the rubble littered floor she came to the display unit she needed. Her fingers worked at lightning speed as all the people around her carried on with their equally important tasks. Pulling a tool set from the cabinet next to her she started pulling the wall to pieces, ripping out damaged conduit and replacing it with new. Her hands skilfully fused the conduits together, all the while her focus was also on realigning power routes to the dampners and shields.

"Lees, you need to work quicker, we're losing structural integrity on your deck! I'm shutting it down when we reach twenty percent." The Captain's words reverberated through her head, she couldn't help but look around at the people currently unaware of their fate. It was her fate too, the Captain had just told her she was going to die. As she tapped away on the display screens, adjusting one thing, increasing another she shouted over to the person next to her.

"Hey!" The man turned towards her, annoyed at the interruption. Corriene watched him turn away and ignore her. "Hey! You!" She shouted again, this time he stopped what he was doing and stormed over. She started speaking before he had a chance to lay into her. "Get everybody out, they're shutting the deck off." Her tone of voice and the expression on her face told him everything he needed to know. Nodding bluntly he spun and hastily started telling the others, Corriene turned back to her station and continued to divert the energy necessary.

Her eyes darted to the current level, twenty two percent.

"Shit." She muttered to herself, word must have spread quickly because the bay had emptied around her. There was nothing they could do anyway, an alarm started ringing. Pulling an equipment harness from the wall she wrapped it round herself as she continued to work, she didn't really believe it would stop her from being sucked out into space or suffocating if life support was lost but if it at least made her feel better for a moment, she was happy to oblige herself in a little self-comfort.

"Lees! Get me that power!" Kirk's voice reverberated around the room.

"Aye Captain!" She shouted back, no level of respect evident in her tone. With her right hand she finished her last calibration and overrode the system preventing her from taking power from a deck that was about to be destroyed to a system that needed it. With her left hand she checked for life signs, there were three.

"Lees?!" Kirk's panicked voice filled her head again, Corriene made the decision not to respond, if she was successful they'd be notified of the power dispatch on the Bridge anyway. She opened up her own comm to the deck.

"Deck shutdown in sixty seconds! Evacuate now!" She shouted over the incessant alarm.

"What are you doing Lees?!" Again, she ignored Kirk, the clock was ticking, she had fifty seconds of work left to do and there was forty seconds until shutdown.

"Come on Damnit!" Out of pure fear and frustration she punched the display with her fist. A green light pinged in her peripheral vision, the power the Enterprise needed had been diverted successfully.

Corriene closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

Ten seconds.

Blinking rapidly she smashed her hand into the release switch on the harness and then slammed the side of her body against the panel next to her. To Corrriene it felt like the panel lifted and slid to one side in slow motion, in reality it was matter of seconds. Swinging herself inside the Jeffries tube she held onto the ladder handles as she closed the panel after her. Through the metal she could hear the alarm change volume and tune, denoting imminent shutdown. She looked down, there wasn't a chance in hell she could climb down an entire deck in two seconds.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Grabbing the sleeves of her uniform and pulling them over her hands she placed her boots on the outside of the ladder and let herself effectively free fall down the tube. She couldn't help but scream when above her the panel blew out and flames poured into the tube racing towards her, Corriene had no choice but to simply let go of the ladder entirely. Careening towards the Deck centrifuge Corriene let out another cry, she felt her ribs bang against the partition and felt the blast of air against her face as it shut. She'd made it off the deck but she was still hurtling down a Jefferies tube, fast approaching the ground. Grabbing at the walls Corriene tried to slow herself down, her fingers battered against the ladder as she tried to take hold. Her entire body slammed into the steps as she finally stopped plummeting, the air was pushed from her lungs and she struggled to determine which part of her body hurt the least.

Easing herself down the little space left she collapsed onto the ground while catching her breath. The ship had stopped toing and froing and there hadn't seemed to be any enemy hits. Corriene knew she needed to get up, check what was going on but her eyes were refusing to stay open and just like that, she passed out.

* * *

"Where are we up to Mister Spock?" Kirk asked as the pair walked briskly down the corridor approximately nine hours after the attack. The whole ship was awash with activity, repairs were being made, and shifts were being rotated round. Kirk nodded supportively at the crew he passed as they carried supplies and materials.

"Level four hazard review has been completed Captain, Security will carry out the final sweep within the next hour."

"How many lost?" Kirk asked the inevitable question.

"Thirty seven Captain." Spock answered severely, Kirk could only swallow the lump in his throat.

"From Deck five through eight?" Spock simply nodded. "What about twelve?" The pair of them stopped in the corridor, Kirk folding his arms and looking to the ground.

"No losses reported from Deck twelve Captain." Kirk's head snapped up to stare at his First Officer in amazement.

"I thought we lost structural integrity on deck twelve?"

"Yes Sir, but the Deck was evacuated."

"I didn't issue that order?" Kirk creased his brow in confusion, it was a decision he had been questioning since the moment he'd made it.

"No Captain, Ensign Patara noted in his report that Lieutenant Lees issued the order." Spock raised his eyebrow an inch.

"Lieutenant Lees?"

"Lieutenant Corriene Lees Captain, you promoted her when Lieutenant Meloy was killed. She successfully diverted power as you requested Captain before the Deck was closed off." Kirk waved his hand dismissively in front of Spock's face.

"I know who she is Spock! Never mind. No, hang on! I want to speak to Lees about issuing orders without authority, understood Mister Spock? Send a comm asking her to come to the Bridge." Kirk set off walking again.

"Lieutenant Lees is unaccounted for Captain." The Vulcan's words hit Kirk harder than he anticipated, he stopped again and turned slowly.

"Unaccounted for?"

"Aye Captain." Spock, as ever, showed no sign of emotion.

"I don't understand?" Kirk placed his hands out palms up, as if praying for somebody less ' _logical_ ' to come and explain it to him.

"She is missing Captain."

"Missing?!"

"Affirmative Captain." Kirk was about to lose it with his First Officer.

"Wait a minute Spock, just wait! We know how many souls serve on board this ship; we know how many are still on board. We know where they all are, how can Lieutenant Lees go missing?" From the way Kirk kept his eyes closed as he spoke to the way he pinched the bridge of his nose Spock could deduce very easily Kirk was losing his equanimity.

"We lost scanning capabilities when Deck…" Spock stopped talking when he saw the look appear on Kirk's face. He knew enough of his Captain to know when he didn't actually want the correct answer, or any answer for that matter. "I shall carry out a sweep now Captain." Spock replied, looking down to his PADD and typing as he spoke.

"Thank you Mister Spock." A moment later Spock looked back up to his Captain. "Well?"

"She is on Deck eleven Captain, in Jeffries tube sixteen."

"What the hell is she doing in there?" Kirk set back off walking. "Well come on Spock, we're near there anyway, might as well go ask her now."

"She may be injured Captain?" Spock proposed as they made their way through the corridors, it was an option Kirk hadn't thought about and as soon as he heard the words he felt guilty for only thinking this woman was simply _bunking off_.

"Why hasn't she comm'd?"

"She may well be unconscious?" Kirk picked up his pace, coming to the Jeffries tube entrance he hit the panel and watched as it slid open.

"Kirk to Bones! Get down here now!" Kirk shouted into his comm badge as he crawled inside and placed his fingers on Corriene's neck. "Lieutenant Lees?!" He shuck her gently, being careful not to aggravate any injuries he was unaware of. Her face was black and blue and her hands looked simply awful the way they lay clumsily in her lap. Corriene began to slowly stir, groaning she tried to shift her sore body. "Easy now, easy!" Kirk put his hands on her shoulders, stopping her from moving. She slowly peeled her eyes open to see that Captain Kirk was knelt down in front of her, feeling sick she tried to sit up.

"Where am I?" She asked, wanting to place her head in her hands but not really being able to move her limbs.

"You're in Jeffries tube sixteen, Deck eleven." Kirk let Corriene rest hear head in the palm of his hand, he could see she was trying to will away the pain of her injuries. "For the past nine hours it seems?" Kirk answered looking to the entryway for Bones to appear.

"Did we win?" Corriene was clearly suffering a concussion because on any day of the week in her right mind she wouldn't have presumed to speak to the Captain that way. Kirk chuckled though and nodded his head.

"Yes we did Lees, thanks to you."

"You're welcome Captain." He couldn't help but laugh even more at her reply, she looked into his eyes and saw his admiration in her, she'd never felt so proud even though the stabbing pain in her ribs was close to unbearable.

"Lees, I didn't order an evacuation." Kirk stated simply, watching her for a response. Corriene didn't hesitate, looking him in the eye as she answered his statement.

"There was nothing those people could do Captain, there was no more time. There was no need for them to die, I'm sorry Captain. I did what I thought was right, I know you'll probably demote me for going against orders and breaching protocol but I wouldn't change it, I would do it again." Her stalwart gaze could only have impressed him more if she hadn't of been slowly passing in and out of consciousness as she spoke.

"Alright Lees, stop talking. We'll worry about all that later." Kirk turned back to the entranceway. "SPOCK! WHERE THE HELL IS BONES!" As if by magic the scowling face of Leonard H. McCoy appeared.

"What the hell is going on Jim?! God damnit, what happened?!" As McCoy scrambled in Kirk sat back and looked at the woman in front of him, she was banged up pretty bad, had been passed out for the past nine hours, had given him sass when he had asked her what the hell she had been thinking and was currently sleeping like she didn't have a care in the world.

* * *

 _ **Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think LLAP ;-) XOXO**_


	2. Chapter 2

Corriene was back at work the next day, Doctor McCoy healing the broken ribs and contusions to her face and hands in record time.

"Try to lay off the hero stuff for a while okay?" McCoy had glibly remarked as she had made her way out of the Med Bay. She wasn't a hero, she wasn't known for saving the day. She was known for getting on with her job. Corriene had worked in the private sector for a number of years, becoming a Fellow she had long ago reached her childhood career aspirations. On the day of the attack, when an act of terrorism destroyed most of Starfleet and what it represented, Corriene had enlisted. Four years later she had spent a year at the Academy and become an Officer, quickly rising through the ranks.

Yesterday she'd lost her friend and Mentor Oliver Meloy, he hadn't been much older than her but he'd taken her under his wing and taught her everything he knew. She was going to miss him, a lot.

Lying on her back under one of the antimatter chambers Corriene carried on repairing the damage that had been done by the attack, the warp core was working but it had sustained heavy damage and needed a full overhaul. Crew were pulling double shifts and working overtime to get the Enterprise back up to standard, throughout her morning under the chambers fellow Crew and Officers had stopped by, kicked her boot and thanked her for saving their behinds. She'd thrown back an ' _Anytime_ ' and carried on. That's about as much as you got in Engineering and that suited her fine.

"Lieutenant Lees?!" She heard Ensign Wise shout out her name.

"I'm up here!" She shouted back, carrying on with her work. A moment later she was aware of people standing nearby.

"Mister Scott, how are the repairs getting on?" Corriene froze at the sound of the Captain's voice, not moving she waited for the response from her boss.

"Aye we're getting there Captain, we canny go any faster." The two men were stood right where her feet jutted out from under the chamber, stopping what she was doing she tried to peer down over her chest and down her legs. All she could see was two sets of boots facing each other.

"I know you are Mister Scott, I know you are." Kirk replied encouragingly.

"Well, is there anything else I can do for you Captain?" Scotty asked after a moment of silence.

"I was looking for Lieutenant Lees, Ensign Wise over there said she was up here?" Corriene felt her heart pound in her chest, closing her eyes she just wished she could disappear. What was it going to look like to the Chief Engineer and Captain that she had chosen to stay put as they'd had a conversation right there at her feet?

"Aye, the Lass was here a moment ago. Way da now, I'll go find her." Corriene watched Scotty's boots turn and walk away, leaving only the one pair remaining, the Captain's. A spark from the conduit she'd just installed burst out just above her head making her jump in surprise.

"Shit!" Cracking her head on the unit she coughed as a plume of smoke billowed around her. Corriene felt two hands grab her boots and pull her out and up from under the unit.

"Are you okay?" Still coughing Corriene nodded her head.

"I'm fine, fine Captain." Waving her hands in front of her face she gave Kirk a meek smile. Rubbing her eyes with her balled up hands she noticed them covered in soldering soot meaning her face must have been also. She hastily pulled the rag from her belt and dabbed it over her face. He didn't look convinced by her initial answer.

"You sure?" He asked again, wondering if the woman was a genius Engineer or just a liability.

"Yes Captain, what do you want?" Kirk couldn't help but raise his eyebrows at her abruptness and immediately saw that her cheeks turned a violent shade of red. "I'm so sorry Captain, I mean, what I was meant to say was how can I help?" Kirk decided to let her feel like she'd pissed him off for a while longer, so kept his expression stern.

"I read your report."

"You did?" Again he was put off with her unusual style of dialogue; he blinked rapidly and tried to remember his train of thought.

"Yes, of course. Why would I not?" He was frustrated that he'd been pulled into her line of questioning and cleared his throat. Stretching out his shoulders and refocussing on her face Kirk set about again.

"I read your report." As Corriene opened her mouth once more Kirk quickly brought up his hand in objection to her interruption. Corriene looked at his hand and then back to him, seeing something in his eyes she couldn't quite read. She closed her mouth. "I had a few more questions I'd like you to clear up." Kirk took in her features, piercing blue eyes that never stopped focusing, a petite nose that sat above perpetually pursed, crooked and tightly pressed together plump lips. Every thought, reaction, idea and feeling was easily read in her features and Kirk found himself mesmerised by them.

"Questions?" Corriene said confused, as far as she was concerned everything that needed to be said was in the report. She didn't fail to notice him rolling his eyes at her.

"Yes Lieutenant, questions." He hoped by using her rank she would remember that she was talking to a Captain, her Captain. He didn't for one second believe she was being purposely insubordinate but he found teasing her somewhat amusing.

"Of course Captain, shoot." Corriene finally responded, ignoring the headache growing by the minute.

"You didn't put the reason in your report as to why you evacuated the Deck?" Kirk crossed his arms and leant against a nearby railing.

"I didn't?" Corriene replied without really thinking.

"Lieutenant, you don't strike me as the kind that easily forgets, come on. Why did you evacuate the Deck?" Corriene looked at him for a moment, something in his eyes made her not want to feed him a line of bullshit or give him the answer she thought he wanted rather than the truth.

"I didn't want anybody else to die Captain, nothing more, nothing less." Her answer caught Kirk off guard, it was brutally honest. What's more he understood, more than he cared to think about in that moment. He'd had every intention of grilling the Lieutenant when he'd walked into Engineering that day, why had she evacuated personnel carrying out essential maintenance? Why had she breached policy, not responded to a Commanding Officer's instructions? Why had she risked her own life? Now though, he decided against it. Nodding his head, he gave her a quick wink.

"Very well Lieutenant, but if I catch wind that you disobey orders again I'll have you cleaning out the waste pipes like that." With a click of his fingers to punctuate his threat he turned away.

"Aye Captain." Corriene replied, slightly amused and pleasantly surprised.

"You're heads bleeding." Kirk commented as he walked away, turning back he watched as she brought her hand up to her hairline and cringed when as she felt the small cut. "Don't get blood on my floor Lieutenant, you hear me?" Turning back round he found himself smiling.

* * *

"When we spoke last, what was it? Four months ago, I thought I'd made myself clear Lieutenant Lees?" Corriene stood stock still in front of Kirk's desk staring above his head at the wall behind him. "Lieutenant?" This time she looked at him, sitting with his arms crossed looking decidedly pissed off. He was waiting for a response she knew it. "Answer me Lieutenant?" The tone of his voice denoted he had very little patience left.

"I'm sorry Captain, can you repeat the question?" She asked leading to Kirk sitting back in his chair in resignation.

"Explain to me why you went against a CO's direct order and refused to bring the antimatter on line for analysis?" She took in his words, 'refused', 'order'. She knew at the time she was going to be in trouble but she just couldn't let stupid people make stupid decisions and Commander Lucignano was stupid beyond belief.

"I knew that bringing it on line would have overloaded the system Captain, it would have blown all seven chambers." She answered carefully.

"The report didn't indicate that that could be a possibility?" Kirk responded quickly.

"The report was wrong." The words were out of her mouth before she even realised she'd said them. The look on Kirk's face made her think he wasn't all that surprised by her answer.

"You're questioning the report of Lieutenant Commander Lucignano Lieutenant Lees?" Kirk sat forward again, interested to hear her response.

"Yes Sir."

"On what authority?"

"On the authority that Lieutenant Commander Lucignano has no idea about Engineering and wouldn't know an antimatter explosion risk case if it hit him in the face." Corriene answered quickly.

"Lieutenant!" Kirk reprimanded immediately.

"I'm sorry Captain…" Kirk opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted "…but he wouldn't!" Corriene finished.

"That's enough!" Pointing his finger at her he rose from his chair and started pacing. "He's a Lieutenant Commander Lees, you can't say that."

"But Captain…"

"No ' _but_ _Captain_ ' Lees, you can't say that." Kirk's shoulders lowered and he exhaled slowly. Coming to stand in front of her Kirk rested against his desk.

"Captain, permission to speak freely?" Corriene looked at him pleadingly.

"Against my better judgement, permission granted Lieutenant." Kirk answered cautiously.

"Lucignano worked for me years ago, before he joined Starfleet, and myself obviously. I fired him Sir, for putting himself and whole team in needless danger. His arrogance is dangerous." Kirk's eyebrows rose higher than Spock's, he opened his mouth to speak but changed his mind.

"Lees, the report indicated no probable danger." He decided to stick to the facts.

"The report was wrong Sir." Corriene repeated her earlier statement.

"He's a Commanding Officer, he gave you an order."

"Yes Sir."

"You disobeyed that order." Kirk watched her eyebrows dance as he spoke.

"Yes Sir." She was pursing her lips again.

"I have no option but to put this on your permanent record and for the time being remove you from active service." Kirk watched for her reaction, he was surprised when she seemingly accepted her punishment without objection. He was expecting a fight on his hands. Her face though, with those lips and nose and eyes in constant flux betrayed her and he could tell that she was mortified.

"Captain." Corriene replied tight-lipped, not trusting herself not to get emotional or say something else she would regret.

"You're dismissed." Kirk stood in front of her, he could see her chest rising and falling with deep controlled breaths. She was barely holding it together, he knew, because he'd been there himself. Corriene curtly nodded and spun on her heel.

A few moments later Kirk walked out onto the Bridge, taking his seat he stared off into the space being displayed in front of him. After ten minutes or so he bolted up and strode to Spock's station.

"Mister Spock, Lieutenant Commander Lucignano's antimatter analysis report from the other day?" Kirk started.

"Yes Captain?" Spock queried in his usual style.

"Did they carry out the analysis?"

"Negative Captain."

"I want you to have a look over it." Kirk began walking away again, not happy that he was itching a scratch he knew could very easily turn into an awful rash.

"Look over it Captain?" Spock's dispassionate tone grated on him.

"Yes Spock, look over it. Tell me whether it contained any flaws." Kirk had lost his patience, knowing his tone of voice wasn't all together professional he started counting to ten in his head.

"Flaws Captain?"

"Goddamnit! Spock! I want to know if it was full of shit!" Kirk's voice had risen to quite a loud level, the Bridge crew sat near the pair of them tried not to peer up at their Captain in shock.

"Of course Captain." Spock answered with a nod of his head. Kirk sat back down and leant his head against his hand, he could feel a headache coming on and he knew exactly what the reason was, or rather, who.

* * *

A few weeks later and Kirk was in his quarters sifting through piles of PADDs, reports and diagnostics. As one of the 'To Do' piles toppled over and scattered across his floor his doorbell rang.

"COME IN!" He shouted annoyed.

"Well well Jim, is that anyway to greet a friend?" McCoy stood bemused, watching his friend kneel and pick up the PADDs.

"What do you want Bones?" Even to his own ears the words were too harsh. "Sorry, take a seat would you?" McCoy did just that, pulling his feet up and crossing them at the ankle on the coffee table.

"What's new Jim?"

"Nothing, you?" Kirk asked as he took his seat behind the cluttered desk.

"Fifteen cases of Andorian shingles this month Jim! This month!" McCoy's face was incredulous and Kirk couldn't help but laugh, as the Doctor carried on listing the array of diseases and ailments the crew had picked up from the latest shore leave Kirk continued to sort through the reports. One of which caught his eye almost immediately.

"Sonofabitch." Kirk muttered, sitting forward and looking over the PADD in front of him intently. McCoy, noticing he'd lost his friends attention stopped talking and watched expectantly.

"Care to share with the class Jim?" McCoy asked.

"She was right, the report was wrong. Sonofabitch." Kirk's index finger was swiping manically though the report.

"Come again?"

"Sonofabitch." Kirk eventually threw the PADD down and sat back to look at McCoy.

"You've said that already. What the hell are you on about Jim?" McCoy sat forward himself, nothing really rattled his friend, not really. So McCoy's interest had been piqued as to whomever this somebody was who was right about a report being wrong.

"It doesn't matter." Waving his hand in front of him dismissively Kirk picked up another PADD, trying to concentrate on anything other than her face that was filling his mind's eye.

"The hell it does! Jim, what are you talking about?" McCoy waited as Kirk exhaled slowly and sat back again.

"There's this woman…" He began.

"Damnit Jim!"

* * *

 _ **Thank you for reading and the follows and favourites! Please let me know what you think by leaving a review. XOXO ;-) LLAP**_


	3. Chapter 3

Corriene had returned to work after a week of suspension, when she had entered Engineering Scotty had given her a wink and Lucignano had given her a scowl. She wasn't effected by the latter, she'd never liked the man. Too much ego and not enough intelligence, he used his overt masculinity to intimidate people, he was an idiot. Getting back to work felt good and she buried herself in it, literally. She had crawled under the warp core for several hours until finally her friend, Crewman Evans popped his head down over the railing.

"Lees!" He shouted.

"What?" Corriene stopped what she was doing and pulled herself out, peering up at Evans she ran her hands over her head trying to neaten her now messy brunette mop.

"Lunch?" The crewman smiled down at her.

"Don't have time." Corriene began to go back under the railing.

"Lees wait!" Rolling her eyes Corriene pulled herself back out.

"What?" She asked exasperatedly.

"Lunch?" He repeated, Corriene swore under her breath but was secretly glad that he had persevered. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes for a moment Corriene shook her head, still playing hard to get.

"What's the soup?" She asked after a minute. Evans smiled back widely, knowing he had her.

"Plomeek." He answered proudly.

"Damnit, give me a minute." Evans stood back up and crossed his arms, it never failed to work.

* * *

"So, what did you do with your time off?" Evans and Corriene walked down the corridor towards the mess hall, he hadn't bothered to tell her that she was covered in soldering dust. There didn't seem to be a day that went by that Corriene didn't leave Engineering looking like she'd been cleaning chimneys all day, what anybody else failed to realise however was that it gave her a perfect excuse to have a shower everyday, sometimes even twice. Showers were her favourite thing in the world and any excuse was warmly welcomed with open arms.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Evans looked at her confused. "Come on Lees, you must have got up to something? Don't tell me you sat around in your quarters all day and sulked?" Corriene couldn't make eye contact with him and her brow was thoroughly creased which told Evans that that's exactly what she did. "You need to get a life." He said as he jutted his elbow into her side.

"I have a life!" She replied defensively.

"No you don't." Evans couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes I do!"

"Prove it, what do you get up to on your downtime, besides writing Engineering reports, studying Engineering reports or writing counter reports to the reports you've just read?" Corriene looked at him annoyed. "Don't look at me like I've just shit on your pancakes! Go on, tell me." Corriene began thinking about all the things she got up and that's when she turned a bright shade of red and began walking faster.

"Told you." Evans muttered victoriously.

"I went to lunch with you!" She finally managed to counter, feeling very happy with herself that she had come up with an answer.

"Ha! Only when there's soup on which was once." Corriene was feeling decidedly pissed off and upset, until that point she had seen no issue with how she spent her spare time. Now though, well she felt like the biggest loser ever. Walking into the mess they took their trays and got in line, Corriene had decided she was longer speaking to Evans and Evans was still finding the whole thing incredibly amusing. When the Server saw Corriene was next in line he grabbed a soup bowl and began ladling in the clear broth.

"Hey! What if I don't want soup?" She asked angrily, Evans stepped closer and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Lees, look I'm sorry if I touched a nerve. I was only joking." He whispered to her as the Server looked on in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, what can I get you?" The Server asked, Corriene began to look at the array of foods on offer and then with her eyes sad and her lips scrunched to one side she whispered her order. "Pardon me? I didn't quite hear you." The man leant forward.

"Soup please." Corriene answered reluctantly. She could have jumped over the counter and smacked the Server there and then the way he looked at her. Taking her soup and tray she didn't wait for Evans as she began walking between the rows of tables looking for an empty space. That's when somebody bumped into her shoulder sending her tray, and soup flying.

"Watch it!" Corriene looked up in horror as the soup landed down her front and the person she'd bumped into gave her another shove. It was Lucignano.

"What's your problem?!" Corriene asked, all fired up. Lucignano stepped closer until he was in her personal space and smiled nastily.

"You. Your're my problem." He was bating her she knew it.

"Get out of my way." She whispered back and began to walk round him but he stepped right when she did, blocking her way. By this point the whole mess hall had stopped what they were doing and were watching the altercation.

"Or what? You'll fire me? Go against my orders? You've got some nerve you know that? I don't know what you've done, or who you've done to get this far but I've got to say I'm a little impressed." He was sniggering as he spoke and Corriene was doing everything in her power not to retaliate.

"Hey! Is there a problem here?" Both of them turned to see Kirk striding towards them, Corriene immediately felt mortified and dropped her head, staring at the floor.

"No problem Sir, just a little accident." Lucignano replied sweetly.

"Lees, do we have a problem?" Kirk had come to a stop in front of the pair looking between them and the soup still dripping down Corriene's front.

"No Captain." She answered, briefly looking up and making eye contact. Kirk didn't look convinced, seeing something in her face that told him there definitely was a problem.

"Alright then, Lees, go and get cleaned up."

"Aye Sir." As Kirk turned away Lucignano leant towards her once again.

"Now it all makes sense, you're fucking the Captain." That was it, Corriene didn't hear or see anything else from the moment she heard his words. Her arm flew back and with all of the strength she punched the sonofabitch square in the nose. A clattering of trays, plates and cutlery could be heard across the room as Lucignano's body flew through the air and landed on the floor. Clutching at his nose and blood pouring down his cheeks he looked at her in astonishment. Corriene couldn't believe her eyes, the man was twice her size. She'd sucker punched him and dropped him, in front of the entire mess hall!

"You Bitch!" He shouted and began scrambling to his feet but before he could get to her Kirk was between the two of them and Evans had grabbed hold of Corriene shoulders.

"Crewman, get her out of here now!" Kirk was pointing at Evans who just nodded and began dragging Corriene away. Turning to Lucignano Kirk took in his bloody nose. "You, get yourself to sickbay and sort out that face. I'll be seeing you later."

"But Captain..."

"No Lieutenant Commander, that's an order!" Kirk was angry and everybody could tell. As he watched the man walk away he looked to McCoy who was now standing next to him.

"What the hell was that all about?" McCoy asked not even trying to keep the amusement from his tone.

"No idea." Kirk waved a hand in front of him as he spoke and began walking out of the mess, McCoy following after.

"Who was that anyway, the Southpaw?" Kirk sighed heavily and considered whether or not to tell his friend.

"That was the Engineer I was talking about." He offered.

"Lucignano? What about him?" McCoy asked confused.

"No Bones, not him, her. Lees. Corriene Lees." McCoy considered Kirk's words for a moment and then the pieces fell into place.

"That's not the woman is it? When you said _'There's this woman'_ you didn't mean her did you?" Kirk couldn't answer but one look told McCoy everything he needed to know.

"Damnit Jim!"

* * *

Corriene sat in Kirk's office and ready room staring at the floor, the overwhelming smell of soup invading her senses. By this point it had gone cold and was drying out, leaving dull green patches across the front of her tunic. She'd been sat there for twenty minutes, giving her plenty of time to go through all four stages of reaction to the altercation in the mess hall. She'd been angry, remorseful, embarrassed and then straight back to angry again. So when Kirk walked in and looked at her the first thing he noticed wasn't the soup but the deep scowl spread across her features. As soon as Corriene had heard the door swoosh open she'd leapt to her feet and stood to attention.

"Captain Kirk Sir, please let me start by…" Corriene's voice was tight and loud.

"Sit down Lees and be quiet." Kirk interrupted, taking a seat himself behind his desk. Picking up one of the discarded PADDs on his desk he ignored her pained expression and brought one finger to his lips as if deep in concentration while reading the report in front of him. He was making her wait, letting her sit there and stew. At least she had the good sense of being quiet he thought to himself. "You've just returned to duty Lieutenant, after a week's suspension is that correct?" Kirk made sure she knew not to say or do anything else other than answer his question. Through tightened lips she answered yes. "And you decided the best way to curry favour with your new shift crew and restore your reputation was to knock out a superior officer?" He watched as the scowl turned into a grimace.

"Captain, I can only apologise for my behaviour and ask that you take into account my spotless record up until these two incidents." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she spoke.

"What I choose to take into account is no concern of yours Lieutenant." Kirk answered quickly.

"Aye Sir." Her eyes kept darting from his face to the floor to the ceiling, they sparkled blue and reminded him of the lakes in Iowa.

"You are right however, that your record up until now has been exemplary, contrary to your Academy report." Kirk knew by her reaction that he had her; she was intrigued but also ever so slightly annoyed.

As ever, it was written all over her face.

"Your Instructors Lieutenant, they all found you argumentative, combatant…"

"I never questioned the superiority of an Instructor Captain…" Corriene interjected and looked up at him quickly.

"That, right there Lees, that's what they and I are talking about!" Kirk stood and walked round the desk, coming to rest against the conference table on the other side of the room. "You've always stuck to the rules, you wouldn't have risen through the ranks had you not but your style of communication Lees, the way you talk to people. You're not in the private sector anymore."

"I'm fully aware of that Captain…" Corriene had turned in her chair to speak to him.

"Are you? Are you really? Because ending up brawling with someone you have a problem with in the mess hall isn't exactly Officer behaviour."

"I don't have a problem with the Lieutenant Commander." Corriene answered.

"You've got a funny way of showing it!" Kirk watched as her face fell, suddenly appearing upset. He thought maybe he'd gone too far but knew it wasn't that, she could take a slap on the wrist very easily he knew that much. "You were out of line Lees." He summarised.

"So was he." Corriene couldn't help but mumble.

"What was that?" Corriene shook her head, dismissing his question. "Lees, did Lieutenant Commander Lucignano say something to you because if he did then I can't condone your behaviour but I can understand why you may have reacted the way you did." Kirk desperately wanted to know what she had just whispered, he'd known from the start there was something else. As soon as he had seen the pair squaring off against one another in the mess hall he could see the look of spite on Lucignano's face. When he had spoken to him about the flawed analysis report, pointing out that Lees had been right and he wrong he knew the type of man Lucignano was. Ego and misplaced pride, a toxic combination. A part of him felt guilty then, thinking perhaps that maybe he'd added fuel to the fire by speaking so highly of Lees in front of Lucignano. Still, he himself had learnt to play by the rules (even in his mind he could hear Bones scoffing at the very thought), Corriene Lees was no different.

"Nothing Sir." Kirk exhaled slowly.

"Lees, what did he say?" He wasn't necessarily ordering her to tell him but he hoped that his tone of voice relayed the fact that he'd be pissed off if she didn't. He could see it written all over her face before she even muttered a word, from the way she kept hastily licking her lips to her eyes going wide, she wasn't going to tell him.

"Nothing Captain." She answered steadfastly. In that moment he respected her for taking it on the chin, but he also knew it was a stupid mistake to cover for the likes of Lucignano.

"If that's the way you want to play this Lees go ahead, you're making a mistake." Kirk turned away and went back round his desk, sitting and crossing his arms. Corriene wanted to answer back but bit her tongue, rising out of her chair she stood to attention once again.

"Permission to be excused Captain?" Kirk watched as she stood uncomfortably, looking at the soup down her front he fought the urge to smirk.

"Get out of my sight Lees." He answered quickly, nodding Corriene practically ran to the door. "Oh and Lees." He shouted after her.

"Yes Captain?" Corriene asked, her brow knitting in confusion and her hand running through her messy mop of hair.

"If you find yourself stood in front of me again, for whatever reason, you might as well pack your bags right then and there because I'll be throwing you the hell off my ship do you understand?" He eyed her goadingly but there was also a twinkle in his eye, a look that told her to get a grip, clean up her act. She was getting a second chance.

"Crystal Captain." She replied and then left him staring after her.

* * *

 _ **Thank you for reading and letting me know what you think, I'm glad you're enjoying it and I hope you continue to enjoy! There's plenty more to come. LLAP ;-) XOXO**_


	4. Chapter 4

Corriene had kept her head down for the past five weeks, literally. She had asked Scotty to be assigned to the essential maintenance and upgrade of the Engineering Databanks which were conveniently located in the bowels of the Enterprise where, if you were lucky, you may not see anybody for days. She'd taken ration packs down with her, saving a trip to the mess and by the time she'd finished every day the corridors back to her quarters were pretty empty.

Not for one second had she ever regretted the choice of enlisting with Starfleet, she and many others had lost friends and family on that horrific day. It felt only right and natural to help support the cause, when she had told her Father he had begun to cry.

* * *

 _"Why are you crying Dad?" Corriene had sat by his bedside and held on to his hand as she had told him her news._

 _"Because I knew that you were coming to see me to tell me this… and Co, well, I'm so damned proud of you." Corriene had flung her arms around him and they had stayed like that for the longest time. "Your Mother would have been proud of you also." He had whispered in her ear._

 _"Thank you Dad." She had choked back._

* * *

"Lassie! Are ya still down here?" Nearly jumping out of her skin, Corriene looked up to see Scotty's face beaming down at her.

"Aye Commander Scott." She replied, giving him a little wave.

"It's the wee small hours of the morning Lass, get ya self ta bed will ya!"

"I will Sir, just finishing up." Corriene answered politely, giving him a salute as he left. Looking back at the databank in front of her she initialised the final diagnostic and then sat back, crossing her legs in front of her. Her fringe kept falling into her face as she looked down at her last ration pack, tutting and huffing, Corriene ran her hands through her hair.

Since she'd been a little girl there had been next to nothing she or her Mother could do with her hair. Kinks, waves and curls all combined to ensure not one strand went in the same direction. Her Mother would spend hours combing and plating until one day, when Corriene had been nine, she had taken the kitchen scissors and chopped it all off, leaving a messy bob that hung around her almond shaped face. All through school, university and work she had kept it the same knowing there was no other alternative. Sure there were treatments and procedures you could have, chemical straightening, hairpieces etc. but that was never her thing.

Throwing her empty packet to one side she checked on the progress of the diagnostic, one of the readings caught her eye as she shifted onto her knees.

"What the…?" Tapping and selecting various calibrations her brows knotted into confusion and her top teeth bit down on her lower lip. "Now why is that happening?" Taking her PADD she typed up the anomaly, quickly packing her kit together she crawled through the opening and headed on her way.

* * *

After she had dried her hair Corriene had got straight into bed but It was no good, her mind was racing trying to work out what had caused the anomaly. Throwing her covers off her she padded across her quarters and sat at the small desk, pulling her knees up to her chest she picked up the PADD. Checking the time, she opened a channel to Scotty.

"What is it?" He had asked.

"Sir, what would cause a nought point three of a second lapse in data entry?"

"Lees, will ya go to bed!"

"Commander Scott please!" Corriene pleaded. She heard Scotty huff and then there was the sound of scuffling.

"How many occurrences?"

"Just the one." She answered.

"Christ Lees! Once! It's nothing, we probably went through an Ion storm at the time, fried the unit. Lees, I appreciated the attention to detail but you're looking for something that isn't there." Corriene closed her eyes and sighed, perhaps he was right.

"I'm sorry Sir, you're right."

"Don't apologise, just relax will ya. You're doing fine, it was a wee blip. Stop beating yourself up about it." She knew he was talking about the altercation with Lucignano and she knew he was right.

"Thank you Sir." Ending the comm Corriene let out a groan.

* * *

Each head of department sat round the long conference table providing their review and update to Kirk, it was important to him that they meet on a regular basis face to face. Sure they could just send their reports electronically but Kirk had learnt along the way that face to face provided a much better cohesion of thoughts and ideas.

"Doctor McCoy, is there anything else?" Kirk asked charmingly.

"Just get me my damned hypos Jim and I'll be happy." Kirk laughed in response.

"Happy Bones?" He teased.

"Don't push it." McCoy warned.

"Alright, Mister Scott, how's our engines?" Kirk turned his attention to the Chief Engineer.

"Aye they're grand Captain, running at full capacity." Scotty answered proudly.

"That's good to hear Mister Scott, I wouldn't expect anything less." Kirk smiled at him encouragingly, "And your crew, no problems?" He continued.

"Aye no problems Captain, they're a good lot, I canny complain."

"Good to hear, keep up the good work." Kirk turned his attention to Spock. "Mister Spock, can you provide your update…"

"Err Captain, there is one thing." Scotty interrupted.

"Go ahead."

"Well, Lieutenant Lees Captain…" Kirk creased his brow.

"Lees?" He asked.

"Lieutenant Corriene Lees Captain, she's the one who got into it with Lieutenant Commander Lucignano in the mess…" Scotty wasn't sure how to describe her but it seemed to do the trick because Kirk's face changed almost immediately to one of amusement.

"Ah yes, Lees, how could I forget. That was one hell of a right hook from what I remember!" Kirk replied laughing.

"Aye well yes Sir, I canny argue with ya but I'm a little concerned." Kirk's mood suddenly darkened, he never wanted to hear that there was a problem with one of his crew. It wasn't unusual for the HoDs to talk about individuals in the meeting, it was a good way to get a different perspective on performance management and improvement plans. From what he knew of Lees she was a damned good Engineer and she risked her own life to save the lives on an entire deck. She had also sat in his office covered in soup like it wasn't anything to write home about.

"Concerned about what Scotty?" Kirk asked.

"She's gone into her shell a little, I'm a wee concerned she's worried about working with others, her confidence has definitely taken a knock."

"Has she been working in main Engineering?" Spock asked solemnly.

"No, she's hidden herself off in the main databanks, been down there for weeks and I canny think why?" Scotty answered.

"She's keeping herself out of trouble, sounds sensible to me." Bones exclaimed.

"The event in the mess wasn't part of a pattern Doctor McCoy, Lieutenant Lees' record has always been exemplary, she should feel no reason that another incident may happen again." Spock replied, Kirk listened to everybody keenly and then brought himself forward, leaning his elbows on the table.

"Perhaps she's just lost a bit of her nerve Mister Scott, I tell you what, assign her to something outside of Engineering. Get her out of the Jeffries tubes and in a crowd." Kirk suggested.

"Aye Captain, I will." Scotty answered happily.

* * *

Corriene found herself travelling on one of the many turbolifts leading to the Bridge the following day, having received a communication from Commander Scott instructing her to carry out a review of the forward sensors. Clutching her tool bag she concentrated on her breathing, in through her nose, out through her mouth. When the doors swished open her feet hesitated but a moment later she saw Uhura stood nearby, giving her enough of a purpose to walk forward and step onto the Bridge.

"Corriene, how are you?" Uhura greeted her warmly, the pair knowing one another from one of the many organised sporting competitions held on board.

"I'm good thanks Nyota, you?" The two women smiled at one another and made their way over to Uhura's station.

"I can't complain, what brings you here?"

"Quick diagnostic, Scotty sent me although I get the feeling he's up to something." Corriene leant in and whispered the last part.

"Like what?" Uhura asked, equally conspiratorially.

"I think he thinks I'm hiding myself away."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because that's what I've been doing." Corriene couldn't help but laugh a little, she wasn't completely unaware of her own character and stubbornness.

"Well, he was right then wasn't he!" Uhura smiled back at her and gave her arm a pat. "I'll see you later, do you want to grab lunch?" Corriene hesitated but nodded.

"Sure, just no soup okay." Giving the woman a small wave Corriene made her way over to the console on the far left of the Bridge and started to pull out her tools. Removing the panel from the wall she set about her task.

* * *

Corriene had lost track of the time, it was only when Uhura came to stand behind her that she realised it was lunch and four hours had gone by. She'd been engrossed in her work, blocking out the comings and goings of the Bridge crew behind her. Dropping her tool into its bag she stretched her arms above her head.

"I'm actually really hungry." She announced to Uhura.

"I'm not surprised." The two women left and made their way to the mess.

Kirk had arrived not long after Corriene and spotting her almost immediately had spent the entire morning trying not to watch her work. She'd been completely oblivious the whole time but he was still careful not to stare, primarily because it was simply rude and secondly because he didn't want to get caught. It didn't help that he was having a very slow and very tedious day. He'd watched as, after she'd been stood stock still for what had to have been more than an hour she started to ever so slightly bounce on her feet.

He watched as she faintly swayed her hips from side to side, obviously trying to keep the blood flowing and stop any pins and needles. At one point she turned and leant against the panel, looking at her PADD. The range of expressions that swept across her face was ridiculous. At one point Kirk had to stifle a laugh when he very clearly lip read a series of strong expletives she was silently mouthing to herself as she worked. He found her uncommonly good-looking, different enough to not fall into a crowd and peak his interest. Above all that though he saw a good Officer and when he had had to threaten her with throwing her of his ship he'd felt a pang of guilt, he'd made enough mistakes in his past to know that she wasn't someone who deserved losing her position over one isolated incident.

When she returned from lunch he had looked up at the same time, locking eyes with her he decided on a brief nod and small smile, she responded with the same and then that was that, she went back to work and he went back to being bored stiff.

* * *

 **Five Weeks Later**

Curiosity got the better of her eventually and Corriene found herself in front of the main databanks again, this time though it didn't take long. She knew exactly what she was looking for and when she found it, the same less than nought point three of a second blip, she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Shit." She knew what this meant, it wasn't a 'blip' or even an Ion storm for that matter, it was intentional, and it was human influence. "Why?" She found herself asking out loud. "Shit shit shit." She knew it would take her hours to run a full comparison diagnostic, she'd have to know what was happening and who was doing what on the entire ship at that precise time, hopefully a link appearing somewhere.

"Lees!" She looked up above her head.

"What?" Evans was staring down at her grinning.

"Lunch?" He asked, a glimmer in his eyes, there hadn't been a day that went by where he hadn't taken the mick out of her for what happened in the mess.

"Give me a second." She replied, pulling herself up. When she'd reached the top of the ladder Evans had taken her hand, helping her over the railing.

"Well, I didn't think you'd say yes."

"What can I say, you've worn me down." Corriene answered referring to the fact that he had been asking her for days and she had be saying no, she placed her hands on his shoulders as she spoke.

"Just what a fella wants to hear." He replied sarcastically.

* * *

Getting to the mess and retrieving her food had gone relatively smoothly, she'd even been able to find an empty table and sit at it without starting a fight. When the pair was facing one another they both began to make small talk, she had to admit it, it felt good to be in her normal routine again.

"Emily and I are having a tennis match tomorrow with Ensign Crangle, can you make up the double?" Evans asked between mouthfuls.

"Sure, Crangles an ex pro!" Corriene replied.

"Hey! We're not too bad as well you know!" Evans said mock offended.

"Yep, umhum, well, we'll see who wins."

"You're so competitive you know that."

"You're not the first to mention it," Corriene smiled sarcastically. "Anyway I thought Emily said she would never play with you again?" Corriene finished her sandwich and took a swig of her drink, watching her friend over the rim of her cup.

"I persuaded her that would be a mistake, plus I bought her a new racket so she felt bad." Evans mimicked Corriene and took a drink from his own cup.

"When are you going to make an honest woman of her anyway?" She knew what she was doing, she'd been teasing him for months, knowing that Emily Ludriecus had been wanting him to propose for a while now.

"Not you as well! Christ you're worse than my Mother you know that?!" Corriene simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Whatever, just know that you're punching well above your weight."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Corriene smiled at him and stood up. "What about you?" Evans asked as they made their way out.

"What about me?"

"Lees, you need to get laid." Corriene made a disgusted face and shook her head.

"I'm not even going to respond to that." The pair of them entered the turbolift and leant against the cylindrical wall.

"You don't need to respond, I can tell. You're gagging for it!" Evans moved into a protective position as he spoke, covering his head with his hands knowing he'd probably get a good whack off his friend for his nauseating comments.

"You're disgusting you know that!" Corriene couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm right."

"Evans, I. Do. Not. Need. To. Get. Laid!" Corriene shouted at him just as the turbolift door swished open revealing Kirk stood waiting and from the look on his face it was clear that he'd heard her. Corriene was like a deer in headlights, feeling her whole body turn a ghastly shade of pink she had no idea what to say. Evans grabbed the fabric of her sleeve and pushed her to one side to make room.

"Captain." Evans greeted professionally, Kirk turned his attention away from Corriene and nodded politely at Evans who was just about holding back tears of laughter.

"Crewman." The three of them stood in silence, Kirk standing between the pair. It felt like a lifetime for the turbolift to reach their deck. The door hadn't fully opened before Corriene had slipped through the narrowest of gaps and briskly walked down the corridor away from the two men behind her. Evans turned to Kirk and smiled at him as he passed.

"Captain." Kirk nodded in response, when the door closed and the turbolift carried on its way Kirk finally let out the laugh he'd been holding in.

* * *

 ** _Please let me know what you think so far! Thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying it LLAP XOXO;-)_**


	5. Chapter 5

Corriene felt herself materialise, back on board the Enterprise and in one piece she heaved a sigh of relief.

"How was your trip?" The Ensign asked manning the transporter.

"Hot, humid and did I mention very hot." Corriene answered pulling her uniform away from her muggy skin. "What I wouldn't give for just one snowy ice planet." She exclaimed longingly.

"I think you've caught the sun Lieutenant." The Ensign cringed, looking at her burnt nose and cheeks.

"Yeah? Well there was two of them and I was working outside all day!" Corriene didn't even want to see what her hair looked like.

"You may want to go to sickbay, get an ointment or something." He suggested.

"Will do Doctor, thanks for the tip." Corriene gave him a wink and then left. She'd been planet side for a week and had missed her quarters, making her way down the hall she watched as those who walked past gave her a funny look. When she finally made it to her quarters she went to the mirror in the bathroom.

"Christ! I look like a clown!" Corriene exclaimed, trying unsuccessfully to pat down her hair and gingerly touch the skin on her cheeks. Taking in her appearance she now knew what the Ensign was talking about, her nose and the rest of her face was a bright red and felt tight when she moved her face around. Grabbing a shower she changed into a clean uniform and then headed towards sickbay. Walking through the large doors she was relieved to see that the place was relatively quiet, spotting a Nurse she made her way over.

"Excuse me." She asked quietly, the Nurse turned and gave her a sympathetic smile, immediately noticing the redness of her face.

"Let me guess." The Nurse kindly joked.

"Do you have a cream? Or something?" Corriene asked.

"I think we can do better than that." The Nurse smiled again and led her towards one of the beds. "Hop up there for me please." She asked. Corriene sat on the edge of the bed as she watched the Nurse pull a device from a drawer. Bringing it towards her face Corriene looked at her apprehensively. "Don't worry, it won't hurt."

"Aren't you all trained to say that?" The woman simply laughed and began waving it slowly over her face. "You're right, it doesn't hurt." Corriene commented absentmindedly.

"So tonight, my place, Texas holdem?" Corriene's attention was caught by the sound of the Captain's voice coming from the door to an office on the other side of the bay.

"I'm not going to say no to taking your credits again Jim." The Doctor followed after, his arms crossed.

"You've had a lucky streak Bones, but it's ending tonight."

"Whatever you say Jim." The pair stopped and looked around the bay, both of their gazes landing on Corriene. She watched as the two men turned away from her and carried on their conversation so that she couldn't hear. She stopped watching, not wanting to appear rude.

"Lieutenant Lees." Startled, Corriene looked up, seeing that the Doctor had disappeared and the Captain was now stood beside her.

"Captain Kirk." She blurted out nervously, she hadn't seen or spoken to him since the turbolift incident.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, concern clearly in his eyes,

"Yes Sir, just a bit of sunburn. I forgot my hat." His smile made the butterflies in her stomach begin to flutter. He was a very handsome man and she couldn't help but stare into his sparkling eyes.

"Commander Scott informed me you did a sterling job down there." He rocked on his feet as he spoke.

"Well thank you Captain, the whole team played a part." She added.

"No need to worry yourself Lees, Commander Scott mentioned you specifically, take the compliment." Kirk encouraged.

"That's good to hear." She pressed her lips together bashfully, quickly glancing at his chest she mentally chastised herself for being such a child and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to refocus and act professionally. Kirk only saw all of this transpire through her facial expressions and couldn't help but laugh, not knowing the cause.

"Are you okay Lees?" He asked. Any redness that the Nurse had managed to remove from her cheeks came back and then some. She felt so embarrassed she was lost for words.

"It's the dermal regenerator Captain, it can tingle." The Nurse spoke up, Corriene feeling instantly relieved that the woman had come to her rescue. Kirk nodded in response.

"I see, well I better be going. Good job Lees, keep it up." With that he turned and left.

"Bad idea." The Nurse whispered to Corriene after a minute.

"What?" She was confused at the Nurse's comment.

"The Captain? Bad idea." She repeated.

"Oh no, I don't, I mean I don't think he's…I just…" Corriene stumbled over her words, incredibly embarrassed at getting caught ogling the Captain.

"Don't worry honey, it's just a word of advice." Corriene watched as she put the device down and told her she was free to go. "Besides, you can do better."

That night, lying in bed, Corriene found it extraordinarily difficult to fall asleep.

* * *

Every week she checked the databank and every week she found the same anomaly but still no connection between them. Sitting and stirring her soup round and round she rested her head in her hands. There had to be something, something that linked the missing time and data to somebody on board. She'd been sat in the mess for over an hour thinking, nothing was coming together. Looking up she locked eyes with Lucignano who was walking by with his tray, she fought the urge to scowl and smiled politely. When he simply averted his gaze and carried on walking Corriene instantly felt angry.

"Dick." She said under her breath. Standing and collecting her tray she began to walk to the refuse counter, that's when it came to her. Turning and staring back in Lucignano's direction she pulled her lips together as if she'd just eaten something sour.

"Lieutenant Lees, it's good to see you." She turned to look at Kirk who was stood behind her looking decidedly handsome.

"Yeah? Thanks, umm... I've got to go Captain, I'm sorry." Without a second thought Corriene set off in a run "It's good to see you too!" She shouted as she ran out the mess hall leaving Kirk staring after her in amazement.

* * *

 **7 Weeks Later**

Traipsing through the undergrowth Corriene felt her ankle go over at a funny angle as she had tried, unsuccessfully, to dodge a large tree log. Instinctively her arms flung out to try and balance herself, it was only due to the fact that Kirk grabbed her arm that she stayed upright.

"Careful there Lees." Not letting go of her Kirk watched as Corriene cautiously put weight on her foot. "Are you okay?" He asked, watching her wince.

"Yeah I think so." She gave him a tight smile and sucked in a breath, Kirk wasn't convinced.

"You may have sprained it, here, come and take a seat." He moved quickly to her side, never letting go of her arm he placed his other round her waist. He could feel the curve of her hips and ribcage against the palm of his hand, he could also feel her stiffen against his touch and he wondered whether he'd just made a mistake.

"Really Captain, I'm okay, I just need to walk on it for a bit." Kirk reluctantly let go, missing the feel of her straightaway.

"You let me know straight away if it continues to bother you, I don't want my Engineer out of action do you hear me?" He pointed his finger at her as he spoke, he could see amusement in her eyes but she answered politely and they continued on their way.

The journey down to the planet had been relatively relaxed, Corriene found it easy to converse with Kirk. He was smart and funny, insightful and surprisingly sensitive. She found that she'd catch him looking at her from time to time but instead of blushing and turning away quickly he would smile widely and she'd find herself smiling back. A lot of the senior officers she'd met were excellent officers but a lack of experience in the real world resulted in her feeling like they lacked common sense. Kirk seemed different to her, for a long time she'd presumed he was like her, having only joined Starfleet after working in the private sector. So she'd been surprised to learn that he seemingly came from a long line of heroes, it was in his blood. She admired him, he seemed like a good person. It didn't hurt that he was pretty easy on the eye also.

Three hours later and Kirk stifled the yawn he could feel tugging at his jaw, while Lees had been set to work updating the planet's eco support system he'd been talking with the members of Parliament. Making his way out of the government building he stood in the large courtyard peering up at the sun.

"Captain!" Kirk turned in the direction of the shout and saw Corriene making her way over, her uniform was covered in oil and soot but her face was beaming. He found her excitement infectious and smiled back.

"Looks like you've had a productive day." He commented as she stopped in front of him and shielded her eyes from the sun.

"Yes Sir, we're back up and running, took longer than I thought but it should keep the system operational for the next twenty years or so." He watched her keenly, enjoying her enthusiasm. In the sun he could see the freckles on her nose and cheeks which were pink and blushed.

"You forgot your hat again." He laughed.

"Yeah I know Sir, glutton for punishment." She answered jokingly.

"Well, if we're all done shall we get back to the shuttle?" He asked, clapping his hands together.

"Yes Sir." Setting off he noticed she was still hobbling a bit on her right foot, he was about to say something but changed his mind. She was clearly somebody who didn't like a fuss, he'd tell her to go sick bay when they were back on board the Enterprise. "Do they want us to come back Captain, as planned?" Kirk nodded and proceeded to tell her about his talks with the government, she listened intently and asked questions from time to time.

Kirk found it was easy to talk with her, her communication style had thrown him off guard at the start. What he had initially perceived as challenging, as well as her Instructors at the Academy, the truth was actually just an enthusiasm for debate, confidence in her own knowledge and understanding and a support of the other person's thoughts and feelings. Just like her facial expressions, there was a rare honesty to everything she said. He felt bolstered by her comments and questions, he didn't want the conversation to end. "Have you ever considered mentoring Lees? I think you'd be excellent at it." He watched something pass over her face, pain and upset. "Did I say something wrong?" He asked, seeing her eyes glisten with the threat of tears.

"No, no Captain, you didn't. I'm sorry, I don't know where this came from?" Corriene wiped hastily at her eyes and took deep breaths.

"No need to apologise." He comforted.

"I had a mentor, he died, he taught me a lot." He watched as she smiled sadly and sniffled.

"I'm sorry to hear that Lees, but he made a difference to your life and you could make a difference to somebody else's."

"I'll think about it Captain."

"Of course." They fell into a silence and Kirk spent the rest of the walk back glancing at the woman next to him. Once they were back inside the shuttle the pair took their seats and Kirk piloted the craft off the planet. As they went from the blue sky of the planet's atmosphere into the darkness of space Kirk smiled to himself.

"I always love doing that." He commented, looking over at Corriene.

"It's pretty special." She agreed, running her hands through her hair and feeling it stick out more than it had been. Kirk had been watching and couldn't help but laugh at the end product of her styling. "Are you laughing at my hair Captain?" He could tell she was pretending to be insulted. Without thinking he answered, and then instantly regretted it.

"No! I love your hair!" He could see the look of shock flash across her face but appreciated the fact that she simply thanked him for the compliment and then turned towards her console. He did the same, but he wasn't concentrating on anything, he was too busy mentally kicking himself.

* * *

 **2 Weeks Later**

Kirk sat at the bar swilling his drink round and round in the frosted glass.

"Penny for your thoughts Jim." McCoy asked, leaning against the bar running his finger round the rim of his own glass. Kirk snapped out of his daydream and looked to his friend who was giving him a look that meant he already knew the answer to his question.

"I'm err, I've got something on my mind is all." Kirk couldn't find the words to describe how he felt, was it a crush? A fleeting desire?

"You mean someone on your mind." McCoy corrected, raising one eyebrow. "Come on Jim, tell Doctor McCoy what ails ya." Winking McCoy stood back up and poured both of them another measure.

"Corriene Lees." Kirk simply said.

"What about her?" Kirk rolled his eyes and exhaled loudly.

"Come on Bones, do I have to spell it out for you?"

"I'm a Doctor not a mind reader Jim! Tell me, what about Corriene Lees has you acting like a love struck teenager?" Kirk sat for a moment and thought about McCoy's question, what was it about her?

"She's fearless, an open book, I like that I can tell exactly what she's thinking at any one time. She's not afraid to do the right thing for the right reasons. She's stubborn and argumentative, she's got one hell of a right hook!" Kirk smiled, thinking back to seeing her laying out Lucignano in the mess. "I think she's one of the most attractive women I've ever seen." He looked up to his friend nervously.

"So… not much then?" McCoy replied sarcastically.

"Yeah, not much."

"Do you know if she feels the same way about you?" Kirk shook his head.

"We have chemistry I know that much but I don't know if she would be willing to take the risk."

"Of what? Dating the philandering James T Kirk?" McCoy asked semi seriously.

"Thanks Bones, I wouldn't say that I was a philanderer."

"You wouldn't?! I'd be damned interested to know what you would call yourself." Kirk thought for a moment but essentially couldn't think of another word to describe himself.

"Anyway shut up Bones! This is different, she'd different." With that McCoy barked with laughter. "I'm going to bed, thanks for the drink Bones, and the support." Kirk hopped off his stool and walked out the bar leaving McCoy still laughing.

* * *

 _ **Thank you for the follows, favourites and reviews, it's very much appreciated! I'm glad you're enjoying it as much as I am writing it, please leave a review if you can, I'd really like to know what you think of Corriene. LLAP ;-) XOXO**_


	6. Chapter 6

Corriene made her way through Engineering looking for Evans, she needed to speak to him urgently. She finally felt like she'd collated enough information to report her suspicions to Commander Scott, she still wanted to check with her friend first. Somebody was definitely extracting data from the Enterprise, what's more they'd tried to cover it up and seemingly been successful for quite some time. She'd still not worked out who that person was but she felt confident it was only a matter of time, spotting Evans Corriene began walking in his direction.

"Lieutenant Lees, what are you doing here?" She couldn't help but shudder, Lucignano's voice was like nails on a chalkboard to her now. Turning she stood to attention.

"Sir, I was looking for Crewman Evans." She answered professionally, watching his dark eyes rake over her she thought back to when they were employers of DASO Co. He'd always carried an air of arrogance but he was good with people, knew what to say and when to say it. That's why she hadn't been surprised when she'd heard he risen to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He was tall and handsome and he'd used that to his advantage, both with Women and Men. When he was one of her direct reports she'd always found him incredibly difficult to manage, the epitome of an Alpha Male, with the all the pitfalls that went along with it. The day she fired him, she'd watched as his hands had clenched into fists, that's when she knew he wasn't just arrogant, he was dangerous as well.

"Is it work related?" He asked her sternly.

"No Sir." There was no point her lying, she was a terrible liar.

"Well he's still on shift, I'd prefer it if you left my crew alone Lieutenant." She could tell he was enjoying himself, nodding curtly Corriene spun on her heel and began walking away. Peering over her shoulder she saw that Lucignano was still watching her, a grin on his face. Quickly turning back around she carried on until she was out in the corridor.

"Dick." She whispered to herself and then out of nowhere and for no reason whatsoever a thought came to her. "Shit." Making her was back to the databanks Corriene now knew what she was looking for, scrunching up her face and rolling her eyes she couldn't believe her luck. Of course it was Lucignano who was stealing the data.

* * *

"Seriously Lees, you've got a problem." Looking up Corriene scowled at Evans who was peering over at her.

"Get down here will ya." She shouted back at him, a moment later and she watched his boots step off the last rung of the ladder.

"What are you doing down here?" Evans asked as he sat crossed legged.

"For the past six months there has been a nought point three of a second deletion of data in the banks, it happens every week with seemingly no microelectronic or programme fault reason for it." Corriene had lowered her voice and her eyebrows were arched into a severe angle which Evans was finding very hard not laugh at.

"Okay?" Was his only response. "So, you think someone is doing it?" Corriene nodded silently. "Why?" He asked.

"I don't know?"

"What data is missing?" Rubbing his chin with his hand he already knew he was going down the rabbit hole with the woman sat in front of him.

"I don't know?" She answered quietly.

"Wow, you don't know much do you?" Evans replied sarcastically which only resulted in him getting a light punch in the arm. "Ow! Okay okay, do you think you know who's doing it?" He finally asked, Corriene nodded. "Who? Come on Lees, spit it out." After a pause Corriene nervously cleared her throat.

"Lucignano." She answered hesitantly.

"You have got to be joking?!"

"I'm as serious as heart attack Evans." Corriene said confidently, Evans was shaking his head and rubbing his face with his hands as if he hadn't slept for twenty four hours.

"Of course you are, so, where's the evidence?"

"I don't have any yet." Corriene answered as if that wasn't a problem. Evans paused and considered his friend. They'd known each other a long time, he felt like he knew her well enough to know when she'd lost the plot and when she was onto something. She'd never been one to be erratic or work off of gut instinct, her strength was her logical, methodical and composed approach. It had kept him out of trouble numerous times. So however much he wanted to tell her she was acting crazy because of what? A vendetta against Lucignano? He knew that wasn't the case, she was definitely onto something.

"So what's next?" Corriene smiled, knowing that he didn't doubt her and would help her with whatever she needed.

"Thank you." She answered, squeezing his forearm.

"That's enough of that, what's next Lees?" He took the PADD from her hands and started looking over the data, after a moment he looked up at her. "Christ Lees, this is serious!"

"Tell me about it." Pressing her lips together and widening her eyes she gave Evans a funny look, it indicated a level of panic he'd not seen in her before.

* * *

Evans and Corriene sat in the Rec room at the far corner, away from the gangs of off duty Crew members and Officers. The pair had been sifting through the collated data for hours, trying to piece together what data was being taken. Corriene sat with a PADD in one hand and drink in the other, Evans sat with his PADD in one hand and drink in the other. They were both dead tired and maybe ever so slightly drunk.

"Maybe he just wants all of Starfleet Catering recipes?" Corriene looked up at him and rolled her eyes, pushing her fringe out of her eyes and stretching her back out.

"Sure, of course. Totally makes sense." She replied mockingly.

"Good evening Lieutenant Lees." Looking up Corriene saw that Kirk was standing nearby, glass in hand. Her face creased into confusion, being completely caught off guard by his approach and acknowledgement.

"Umm, good evening Captain?" It came out as a question rather than a response, cringing Corriene plastered on a smile quickly. Evans just stared between the pair of them, his mouth agape.

"I'm going to get another drink." Evans excused himself and quickly left, for a moment neither of them spoke, until Corriene wondered whether or not he wanted to be invited to sit, as she began to speak so did Kirk.

"I'm sorry Captain, please, you go first." Kirk smiled at her gratefully, a blush evident on his cheeks.

"I just wanted to come and give you something." Corriene's eyes went wide and Kirk couldn't help but laugh quietly at her expression, moving his arm from behind his back he presented the cloth hat to her.

"You bought me a hat?" Corriene asked absolutely gobsmacked.

"I didn't buy you a hat, this is my hat. I'm giving you my hat." Kirk took the seat opposite her as he spoke. Corriene thumbed the rim of the hat and brushed the soft cotton with her other hand. "We don't want you getting a burnt nose again do we?" Kirk used the plural ' _we_ ' but Corriene was incredibly aware that her Captain was giving her a gift.

"I can't accept this Captain, it's yours and it looks well loved." Corriene tried to hand it back but Kirk was already shaking his head no.

"No Lees, this is for you, you need it more than I do." Looking up at him she couldn't help but stare into his eyes, the shock of electricity through her body made her physically shiver.

"Thank you Sir, Captain." She sputtered, biting her bottom lip and blinking rapidly.

"Of course." Kirk was finding it hard not to stare at her, standing quickly he abruptly started moving away from her.

"Captain!" Turning, Kirk looked back at Corriene, who was now sporting the old, beige bucket hat on her head. The rim of the which covered her eyes so all he could see was her beaming smile and frizzy hair poking out. "How does it look?" She asked him still grinning and folding the front of the rim up.

"Looks great Lieutenant." The use of her rank wasn't intentional, in fact it was completely unconscious but it startled both him and Corriene. He watched as her face fell and quickly pulling the hat off of her head she straightened her back and then also tried to straighten her hair. It was evident she was trying to appear professional, as you would and should in front of a Captain. For his part Kirk felt like a complete fool, nodding abruptly he turned and left.

"What was that all about?" Evans' voice snapped Corriene out of her thoughts, tossing the hat onto the table in front of her she turned her attention back to her PADD.

"Nothing." She answered quickly.

"It didn't look like nothing." Evans pressed, his voice laced with humour.

"I said it was nothing Evans, will you drop it please?!" He didn't think he'd ever seen Corriene upset, but she definitely was. He was sure she'd never snapped at him before in the whole time they'd known each other. Picking up his own PADD he continued to read peering up after a while to check on his friend, she was still breathing heavily, clearly upset.

"Corriene, are you sure you're…" But he never finished his sentence.

"My God Evans, I've found it. I know what he's taking!" From the look on her face, Evans didn't want to ask.

* * *

Corriene had been pulled onto an Alpha shift, one of the nacelles had become depolarized after a brief run in with a Ferengi ship meaning warp drive was impossible. Scotty had asked her to head up the team tasked with repolarization. The nacelles were housed on the outboard structure of the spaceship, the interior included a small control room accessible by a single Jefferies tube. Climbing up through the tube Corriene tried to keep her breathing in check, it was a fair way up and she didn't feel as fit as she should have been.

"Nearly there Lees." The voice of her friend Evans came through her communicator, she ignored it and carried on climbing. When she reached the top she dragged her body over the side and lay on the floor panting.

"I need to go the gym more." She muttered to herself as she rolled herself over and got to her feet. Entering the access code the door swished open in front of her. She'd only ever been up in the control room a handful of times, it felt strange to be completely detached from the rest of the ship. "Perfect for hide and seek."

Hours went by as Corriene carried out the essential maintenance, all the while the rest of her team worked away in central Engineering. Evans saw Lucignano before the man saw him, it had been three weeks since they'd been sat in the Rec room and Corriene had discovered he'd been stealing sensitive ship performance data. It would probably fetch a decent price in the private sector, people were always wanted to profit from new technology. It was beyond ludicrous that someone would risk they're reputation and career, not to mention the criminal ramifications for a quick buck. Evans couldn't help but shake his head at the man, he was a disgrace and he couldn't wait to expose him for what he really was.

"Crewman!" Evans closed his eyes despondently.

"Speak of the devil." Whispering under his breath Evans stood from his crouching position and stared stoically at Lucignano. "Yes Sir?" He replied professionally.

"I need someone up in the Transporter room." Lucignano spoke coolly.

"Is there a problem Sir?"

"Would I be asking Crewman if there wasn't? On your way." The two men eyed one another until Evans knew that he had no choice but to do as he was told.

"Yes Sir." He ground out, walking towards the bay door. Lucignano looked over the display panel, he could see that the nacelles had been repolarized. If he could get the ship back up to warp capability in record time it would be a pretty decent feather in his cap as far as Commander Scott and Captain Kirk was concerned.

"Let's power up the nacelles Lieutenant." Lucignano instructed the woman next to him.

"Sir, we haven't finished…"

"I said power up Lieutenant, that's an order." The woman nodded her head quickly, typing rapidly on the panel in front of her. "The nacelles are powering up Sir." Lucignano smiled, very pleased with himself that he was going to be the one who got the Enterprise back up and running in record time. "They're at forty percent Sir." The woman informed him, Lucignano watched as the proportion increased slowly but surely. "Sir!" The Lieutenant's panicked voice caught Lucignano's attention immediately.

"What is it?!" He asked, looking alarmed.

"It's Lieutenant Lees Sir, she's still in the Jeffries tube!"

"WHAT?!" Lucignano all but pushed the Lieutenant out the way, looking at the readings and then he went quiet. The woman watched on in astonishment as he seemed to stand back and watch the energy levels increase.

"Sir? Sir, when the nacelles are powered up to full capacity, they produce dangerous levels of radiation! Crew members are not permitted to be in the Jefferies tubes." He didn't seem to respond and when she knew that he wasn't going to do anything she went to the communication console on the wall. "Commander Scott, come in Sir." Lucignano was still staring at the floor, unmoving.

"This is Scott."

"Commander, we've initiated power to the nacelles but Lieutenant Lees is still up there!"

"Is she in the pylon or the maintenance room?" She could hear the panic in the man's voice instantaneously.

"I don't know Sir? I think maybe the pylon?"

"Power down Lieutenant NOW!"

"We're at fifty percent Commander, the system won't disengage until its reached maximum capability." She could hear in his voice he was now running, obviously on his way.

"You can disengage from the main panel! DISENGAGE!"

* * *

"Captain? We have a yellow alert in Engineering." Spock spoke to Kirk on the bridge.

"What's happening Mister Spock?" Kirk turned in his chair to address his First Officer.

"Unclear Captain, both nacelles were powering up however Commander Scott is disengaging the engines." Kirk creased his brow in confusion, tapping his comms badge he called for Scotty.

"Captain! I have someone in the Jeffries tube, they canny stand the radiation!" Kirk cut the comms to Scotty and opened one to the sickbay. "This is Captain Kirk to sickbay, medical emergency on deck four." Standing Kirk caught Spock's eye, the two men running from the bridge.

* * *

Corriene had heard the engines power up just as she'd started her descent down the pylon, cursing she'd tried to re-enter the maintenance room but the overlock was engaged, peering back down at the never-ending ladder she had an overwhelming feeling of déjà vu. She didn't know what the hell was going on, there was protocol to follow, checks had to be made? Skimming down the ladder the pit of her stomach went heavy, she knew the risks, the radiation would become too high.

Her arms and legs were burning, she wasn't far from the bottom. Step after step after step she took, as quick as she could, all the while her head spinning with nausea and bewilderment at how she could have found herself in a Jefferies tube again fighting for her life. Reaching the access chamber, she slammed the button with her fist that closed the hatch. Her legs gave out from underneath her and Corriene slumped to the floor, tapping away at the panel next to her head she initiated the decontamination process, a failsafe for just these occasions. The medicine she needed was in a white plastic clear case on the other side of the chamber.

"Don't throw up, don't throw up." Corriene dragged her deadweight body over the metal grating, her hand reaching out for the box, her vision had begun to go hazy and her peripheral vision was quickly darkening and closing in. The box fell to the floor at the same time as her head, her world had become horizontal. Looking up at the entry hatch she saw the horrified face of Commander Scott peering through shouting orders at people she couldn't see. The decontamination hadn't finished which meant he couldn't open the door, she focussed back on the hypospray, not seeing that Scotty's face had been replaced by Kirk's. Her fingers finally took hold and she managed to pull the syringe from the box, her arm had never felt so heavy before. Corriene could feel herself losing consciousness and the last thing she remembered was the hypospray falling from her hand.

* * *

 _ **Hope you're enjoying the story so far, thanks for reading! :-) XOXO LLAP Please leave a review if you can!** _


	7. Chapter 7

_"Captain! I have someone in the Jeffries tube, they canny stand the radiation!" Kirk cut the comms to Scotty and opened one to the sickbay. "This is Captain Kirk to sickbay, medical emergency on deck four." Standing Kirk caught Spock's eye, the two men running from the bridge._

* * *

As soon as Kirk had heard that someone was in there he knew he couldn't just wait on the bridge to find out what the hell was going on. The nacelles were one of the most dangerous areas of the ship, the policies and processes associated with any work being undertaken were so stringent that an accident hadn't occurred on any Galaxy class ship for several years.

"What the hells happened down there Spock?" Kirk asked the rhetorical question as they rode the turbolift down, as the door swished open he locked eyes with McCoy who was coming from the other direction. Silently they made their way to the bay, Kirk saw Scotty first, his head peering through the window of the access hatch. A Lieutenant was watching aghast the readings fluctuate, presumably inside the Jefferies tube and Lieutenant Commander Lucignano was stood watching, arms crossed.

"Scotty!" Kirk finally shouted, making his way towards him. "Who's in there?" Peering through the window he saw Lees on the floor, her hand desperately reaching for the hypospray. "Shit." He had to look away, he could feel his emotions threatening to run over.

"It's Lees Captain, we canny go in yet!" Scotty's face was devastated, McCoy went to the console, standing by the Lieutenant who was in tears.

"Three more minutes before the hatch will open Jim." The Doctor stated as he came back over, "Has she taken the hypo?" He asked Scotty.

"I dunna think she can?" Scotty rubbed his hands over his face roughly and paced the floor. McCoy peered through the window himself, the woman was lying on the floor facing away from him, her breathing short and shallow. He spotted the hypospray in her hand but he could see that it hadn't been used. He pressed the button by the side of the hatch that opened a comms channel to the chamber.

"Lieutenant! Lieutenant, can you hear me?!" McCoy's voice was loud and commanding. "Lieutenant Lees, you need to get up and get that damned hypo in your neck now!" Kirk couldn't just stand and watch, his strides brought him to stand in front of Lucignano.

"Lieutenant Commander. What happened?" His voice was low and tight, Lucignano seemed to snap out of his day dream and look at the Captain blankly.

"Sir?"

"Lieutenant Commander. Report. Now!" Kirk repeated, Lucignano blinked slowly and then shaking his head muttered an apology and left the bay. Kirk looked to Spock, "Mister Spock, make sure he's confined to his quarters." Turning back to McCoy and Scott, he recognised the beeping sound of the decontamination system coming to an end. McCoy was in the chamber before the door had fully opened, grabbing the hypo he stuck it into her neck.

"JIM! Give me a hand." McCoy shouted out to Kirk.

"Scotty, I want to know exactly what happened here, do you understand?" Kirk instructed his Chief Engineer.

"Aye Captain." Scotty nodded furiously, and then looking one last time at Lees on the ground in the chamber went over to the still crying Lieutenant. Kirk crouched into the chamber and watched as McCoy pulled the unconscious Corriene onto her back.

"How long was she exposed?" Kirk asked, seeing the tell tale signs of radiation burns on her exposed skin.

"I don't know, she mustn't have been in the Jeffries tube for the full nacelle power up, the woman had had the good sense of getting into the entry chamber." McCoy was scanning Corriene's body as he spoke, scowling at the readings.

"How do you know that?" Kirk asked confused.

"Because she'd be dead." McCoy quickly put his kit away and motioned to Kirk to help him carry her out of the chamber. It all went by in a blur to Kirk, carrying her out onto the med bed, watching the Nurses and McCoy whisk her away and then being left in the bay on his own. It was then that he felt it, in the pit of his stomach a bubbling anger.

"Captain Kirk to Commander Spock."

"Yes Captain?"

"I want to Lieutenant Commander Lucignano in my ready room, now."

* * *

Corriene peeled her eyes open, she felt horrendous. Her back was aching and all she wanted to do was turn on her side and go back to sleep but the incessant beeping and nearby chatting of the Nurses prevented her wish coming true. She then heard a familiar laugh.

"I've never seen someone pull so many different faces in their sleep!" Evans took his friend's hand and squeezed it.

"It's so noisy in here." Her voice was raspy and soft.

"It's quiet in here, you're just not feeling your best. Not surprising really." Corriene picked up on the anger in his last remark, running her fingers through her hair which only resulted in it becoming a voluminous bouffant of curls and spirals she sat herself up and sleepily looked at Evans.

"What happened?" She finally asked, Evans exhaled slowly and shook his head.

"The nacelles were powered up."

"Yes I know that, I had to practically freefall from the top of the Jefferies tube, _why_ were they powered up?" Corriene watched the mix of emotions pass over Evans face. "What?" She took his other hand in hers again. "Ben? What happened?"

"It was Lucignano, he ignored the clearance process and ordered the power up." She felt sick, she instantly felt like she was going to throw up. Putting her head between her knees Evans was up in a second rubbing her back. Her muffled words reached his ears a second later.

"Was he trying to kill me? Does he know?"

"I don't know Corriene, I don't know? I spoke to Lieutenant Zyla, she said he didn't ask if anybody was in there, she doesn't think he did know, he just wanted to get the engines back online quickly to impress the Captain. He's an idiot Corriene!" Corriene scoffed in response.

"That's an understatement!" Her head was still between her knees, the floating spots in her vision not yet disappeared.

"I should never have left." Evans shook his head angrily.

"What the hell are you doing to my patient Crewman?!" The booming voice made both Corriene and Evans snap their heads up.

"Nothing." Evans answered defensively, McCoy just arched his eyebrow at the man and with a heavy hand on his shoulder directed Evans towards the door.

"Visiting hours are over Crewman, let the Lieutenant get some rest." Corriene's head was spinning. "How you feeling Lieutenant?" She looked up at the CMO, his eyes focussed on the apparatus he was holding in front of her face.

"Like shit." She replied reflexively.

"I'm not surprised, you've been cooked up like a pot roast." The mention of food made her stomach rumble, she was really really hungry.

"How long was I out?" Another contraption was now being waved across her chest.

"Ninety six hours."

"Ninety six hours!"

"That's what I said Lieutenant, we had to repair every cell in your body, I'm a Doctor not a miracle worker!" Corriene settled down and gave him a wonky smile.

"Thank you Doctor McCoy." All she got back in return was a dismissive wave, she wasn't really expecting anything more.

* * *

Kirk had gone to see her, he'd walked in and seen her holding hands with that Crewman he'd seen her with before, he'd spun on his heel and left. He didn't know why but seeing this woman he hardly knew with someone else had made him feel uncomfortable, angry, jealous? That night in the rec room he couldn't get her out of his head, her face would look back at him, fidgeting and contorting with humour and wit. It was a hopeless case, she was with somebody. He was a Bastard but he wasn't a fucking Bastard.

* * *

Sitting and listening to the review Corriene couldn't help but grimace, after she was discharged from Sickbay and put on two weeks R&R she'd learnt from Evans that Lucignano had been reduced to the rank of Lieutenant and a note put on his permanent record. The man was sat opposite her and hadn't looked at her once. What hurt her most was seeing his reaction on the audio-visual when he was informed that she was still in there, he'd done nothing.

Sitting knowing that he was stealing and selling data from the Enterprise, putting the entire crew's lives in danger and profiting from it she couldn't help wonder how much of what had happened had been an accident? He could very well of worked out that somebody was on to him, or he simply periodically checked. It wouldn't have taken a genius to see that her name appeared on the rota for that area of databanks on a regular basis.

He'd sent Evans to the transporter room, he'd ignored standard protocol. Pressing her lips together until they were a pale pink she tried to focus on the sound of Spock's voice.

"Any recommendations Commander Scott?" Kirk asked, watching Corriene intently. It was the first time he'd spoken to her since before the accident and she was scarily quiet. Her eyes weren't dancing and her lips never twitched in annoyance or enquiry.

"Aye Sir, they're all in my report."

"Lieutenant Lees, do you have anything to add?" Kirk asked gently, Corriene looked at him mutely.

"No Sir." It was barely a whisper, Kirk's anger grew once more.

"Alright everybody, thank you for your time." Lucignano bolted from the room and as Scotty walked past Corriene he gave her shoulder a good squeeze. Corriene herself began walking from the room. "Lieutenant Lees, a moment please." Kirk asked. When they were alone he gestured for her to take the seat next to him.

"Are you alright Lieutenant?" He asked her, concern lacing his voice.

"Yes Sir, it's just… I wasn't prepared for how emotional I would feel watching the footage Sir. I apologise." She smiled at him wonkily which made Kirk smile back.

"Don't apologise Lees, it's perfectly understandable. Look, I've instructed Scotty to make sure you and Lucignano won't happen to end up working together anytime soon."

"Oh no Captain, please that isn't necessary, I wouldn't mind if…" Kirk held his hand up and she stopped talking.

"Lees, I'm telling you, you won't be working with that man again. If I had my way he'd be off the ship already." Corriene looked into his eyes, they were soft and compassionate and sparkled with little gold specs.

"Thank you Sir." She pulled her gaze away from him, suddenly feeling awkward. Kirk cleared his throat and sat back.

"Um, do you have um… somebody keeping you company?" She could tell he was nervous, it was a side of him she hadn't seen before. She wondered what the cause was.

"I've got some books to catch up on." Kirk nodded enthusiastically in response which made her scrunch up her nose in amusement, he was acting very peculiarly. "And my friend has been coming to see me." She added.

"Your friend?"

"Crewman Evans Sir?" His face contemplated the name and then he nodded again.

"You're friends?" She was taken aback by the question, she could feel her cheeks blushing.

"Yes Sir?" His face was turning the same colour pink, the whole thing was very bizarre.

"Of course of course, well, I won't keep you any longer Lieutenant. Good to see you on your feet." With a curt okay Kirk left, leaving Corriene with a headache.

* * *

 **3 Months Later**

Corriene's high cheekbones came from her Great Grandmother on her Mother's side, so her Auntie told her. She had been a very successful Hong Kongese woman who practiced Law and raised six children. The blue eyes came from her Father, a German Carpenter. Her parents had met when they were four, living next to each other they played out every day until one rainy afternoon, her Mother was told they were moving. Sally Miller cried the entire nine hour journey to their new home and for the subsequent five years until she was finally with Jürgen Lees again at College. Corriene had loved her parents, had loved growing up in a house filled with affection and happiness. After the death of his Wife, Jürgen lost his spark, Corriene spent the last few years of his life taking care of him.

When she was eighteen she'd gone on holiday with some friends, camping in the wilderness. They'd taken no phones or communication devices so when she broke her arm it was three days before they could get help, after that her friends would call her Cookie ( _as in one tough_ ).

She'd had a boyfriend called Sam for five years, until one day he turned up at her flat and told her he was leaving for the Alpha Quadrant. After that she hadn't bothered all that much, a few dates here and there but nothing serious. She figured it would all work out in the end.

"So, he finally popped the question I see?!" Corriene was smiling from ear to ear, grabbing Emily's hand and looking over the sparkly stone on her ring finger.

"I didn't have much choice in the matter." Evans grumbled, rolling his eyes at the two giggling women.

"That's enough of that." Emily swotted his arm. "He was very romantic." She told Corriene sincerely.

"Well I can't say how happy I am for you both." Raising her glass Corriene made a toast, the clinking of glasses catching the attention of the other crew members and Officers in the Rec room. A spontaneous round of applause erupted and Corriene couldn't help but laugh at her friend's mortified faces.

"I'm not interrupting am I?" Corriene turned to see Kirk standing next to her, the air in her chest caught in her throat.

"No of course not Captain." Emily answered pleasantly, looking between Corriene and Kirk knowingly.

"I just wanted to pass on my congratulations." Kirk shook Evans' hand firmly and gave Emily a very chivalrous kiss on her cheek.

"Thank you Captain, thank you." Evans answered.

"Well, we have to get going, we've both got early shifts in the morning. Goodnight Cookie." Corriene stared at Emily in horror as she watched her drag Evans away and leave her standing awkwardly next to Kirk. She gave him a tight lipped smiled and took a swig of her drink.

"Cookie?" Kirk finally asked.

"An old nickname." She explained, almost apologetically.

"It's very cute." Corriene instinctively scrunched up her face, suddenly remembering why she had hated it so much. Kirk must have seen her reaction because he offered up an apology.

"No it's okay, it wasn't meant to be cute, it's as in ' _Tough Cookie_ '." She had no idea why she was telling him this but he was listening and a part of her didn't want him to leave.

"Ah I see, well I can attest to that." Laughing easily Kirk rested against the bar. "How are you Lees?" He asked as he took a sip of his own drink.

"Me? I'm great! You?" It came out a little aggressive.

"Good, good." Kirk replied, "Commander Scott mentioned that you're a little quieter these days, is everything alright?" Corriene felt very at ease with Kirk, his eyes were sincere and his voice soothing.

"I guess I'm wondering how many of my nine lives I have left." She answered jokingly, Kirk laughed as well when her eyes went wide as she spoke.

"That makes two of us! You shouldn't lose that part of you Lees, it's what makes you an excellent Officer plus I hear you really keep the morale up down there." Corriene's eye's glistened in response.

"You're right Captain, thanks for the pep talk!" Holding out her hand Kirk took it and they shook firmly.

"Anytime." Corriene wondered whether or not it was the right time to tell him about her suspicions surrounding Lucignano and the stolen data, opening her mouth she second guessed herself and quickly closed it, crossing her eyes at her own stupidity she ran her fingers through her hair.

"What was that?!" Kirk laughed, seeing the whole emotional reaction unfold.

"What was what?" She asked self-consciously.

"I don't know, has anybody ever told you you'd be terrible at poker!" Kirk was still smiling, he found her peculiarity mesmerising.

"Yes actually, a number of times!" She knew she should make her excuse to leave, she was enjoying the man's company far too much and her stomach was filling with butterflies, she was smart enough to know when she was getting herself into a bad situation and this was a bad situation. "I must be going Captain, thank you for the words of encouragement." She watched his smile falter, he was disappointed she was leaving? Impulsively she reached her arms out and wrapped them round his neck giving him a quick hug, it was only when she felt him tense that she immediately knew she'd made a mistake. The mix of a casual atmosphere, a couple of drinks and her forgetting who she was talking to had led to a very awkward situation. "Sorry Captain." She grimaced. Kirk was still flustered, the feel of her round his neck had been wonderful.

"I…err…it's fine Lees…" She didn't trust herself to say anything else so bolted from the room leaving behind a very confused, aroused and amused James T Kirk.

* * *

 _ **Thanks for reading, I hope you're still enjoying it as much as I am writing it?! Let me know what you think :-) XOXO LLAP**_


	8. Chapter 8

"Commander Scott may I have a word?" Corriene stood next to the Chief Engineer, PADD in hand.

"Aye Lass."

"In private Commander?" Scotty saw that Corriene's face was very solemn, leading her with a hand on her back they went to his office.

"What is it Lees?" Scotty asked, concerned.

"I have reason to believe that Lieutenant Lucignano has been stealing interplanetary vessel performance data from the Enterprise Sir." She answered succinctly.

"Why do you believe this Lees?" Scotty asked carefully.

"I have tracked and recorded a nought point three of a second deletion in data from the main databanks, this deletion correlates with Lieutenant Lucignano's access records. No other crewmember's access correlates exactly to the missing data." She offered over the PADD to Scotty, taking it he began to read it over.

"Wait da now Lassie, why is he taking the data?" Scotty shook his head unbelievingly.

"The private sector would pay big money for Starfleet warp engine capability data and performance analysis Sir, I know, I worked in it." Corriene's eyebrows were both raised, stressing her point to him that she knew what she was talking about.

"Alright alright, leave it with me. I need to look into this before we go any further."

"Of course Sir."

"Ugh! The lavvy-heided wankstain!" Corriene was shocked at Scotty's outburst but said nothing, she was actually quietly impressed. She left his office and began to wonder what would happen next?

* * *

Corriene finished the last coupling, thankful she had the hat on Kirk had given her. The bucket hat pushed down her mop of curls so that the ends curled round her ears and jawline. It made her very warm and her cheeks were flushed red but her nose wasn't burnt and her freckles were being kept at bay. Her team had been working out in the sun all day, it had been a hard slog but the new filtration unit was now up and running. She looked forward to the day they were sent to an ice planet, a big warm coat and mittens were definitely calling her name.

"Evans!" Corriene shouted over the small yard.

"What?" The man looked up, covering his eyes with his hand.

"You done?" Standing and stretching Corriene started dropping her tools into their bag.

"Yeah."

"Alright let's pack up and get some dinner." Evans gave her a salute and fed the order back to the rest of the team. Picking up her bag Corriene started making her way back to the accommodation huts they were all staying in, they weren't much to look at but they had a clean, comfy bed and a hot water shower. Dumping her bag on the floor she stretched out her arms above her head, she could already feel her muscles begin to tighten. Stripping off her mucky uniform Corriene went to the bathroom and turned on the shower, she let her fingers dance between the droplets for a minute as the steam filled the room almost immediately and she didn't hesitate to step right under the water and close her eyes, savouring the feeling. The soap she had was used for her hair, face and body, she even washed her hair twice, a luxury she never afforded herself while on board the Enterprise. Reluctantly she turned off the water, aware that she was meeting everybody for dinner. Wrapping a towel round her she left her hair dripping water down her face and shoulders, a good towel rub was a recipe for disaster when it came to keeping her tresses in order. The knock on the door startled her, pulling the towel a little closer to her chest she unlatched the door, peering round the corner.

"Captain Kirk?" From the look on his face he wasn't expecting her to open the door with wet hair and just a towel to keep her modesty. Clearing his throat he dragged his eyes away from her bare shoulders.

"Sorry Lees, I didn't realise…" Turning away Kirk swore silently to himself.

"It's okay Captain, is everything alright? Is there a problem?" Kirk turned back and desperately tried to keep his eyes above her shoulders. She was looking at him expectantly and he'd completely forgot why he'd knocked on her door in the first place. That wasn't true, it was just that he hadn't come up with an excuse to knock on her door.

"I've just been down to the yard, looks like you're doing a good job down there." He'd put his hands behind his back to stop himself from fidgeting.

"Yeah we're nearly finished, the team have been great Captain." She was enjoying his obvious embarrassment she couldn't deny it, the shoe was unquestionably on the other foot.

"Good to hear it." Kirk answered, nodding his head enthusiastically. The pair fell into a silence, neither one of them not really knowing what to say or what to do next.

"We're… the team I mean, we're having dinner, do you want to join us Sir?" Corriene asked more out of politeness than anything else, so when he answered yes she was happy and slightly taken aback at the same time. "Great, we're meeting at the canteen I just need to get dressed." She looked at him expectantly, thinking he'd go and she'd see him there, but when he didn't make a move she cautiously looked from left to right.

"I can wait, we can work there together." Kirk had seen the hesitation on her face and offered up an explanation, it seemed to be satisfactory as he watched her walk back into her room. She started pulling her spare clothes from her bag as Kirk was still stood outside, entirely unsure if he had done the right thing and now not knowing what to do with himself. "How's your day going Sir?" He heard her shout from inside, taking a tentative step through the doorway he watched as she flung items of clothing from her bag.

"My day? Great!" Kirk said, his nervousness fading. "Bones has been going crazy all day worried about what diseases the bugs might be carrying on this planet."

"Bones?"

"Oh, Doctor McCoy." Kirk explained.

She glanced up and gave him a quick smile and then went back to sifting through her bag, Kirk came to stand next to her and asked what she was looking for.

"My brush, I could've sworn I brought it." Kirk looked up at Corriene's wet hair, it was a lot calmer and yet the curls still spiralled in every direction. His hand lifted towards one ringlet that had stuck to her cheek. Ever so gently he pushed it back with his thumb and forefinger and tucked it behind her ear. "What are you doing?" Corriene asked quietly and breathlessly, Kirk focussed on her big blue eyes.

"I don't know." He replied honestly. "I'm sorry." He added, realisation of what he'd just done slowly creeping in.

"Don't say sorry." Corriene twisted so that they were facing one another, she couldn't stop looking at his lips.

"I uh…" Kirk's words were swallowed by Corriene's lips smashing into his, his hands held her jaw and brought her in even closer. Corriene's hands were raking through his hair, her adrenaline was making her head pulse and she was finding it hard to stay standing. Suddenly she pulled away, licking her lips and sucking the bottom swollen lip over and over again.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have done that. I'm so sorry." She was suddenly very scared, in an instant Kirk pulled her back to him, their body's flush.

"I'm not, my God I'm not sorry." And with that they kissed again, along the way Kirk managed to get the door closed and Corriene managed to drop the towel.

* * *

"Where were you last night?" Evans sat opposite Corriene eating his breakfast.

"Yeah sorry about that, I was really tired, I just went to bed." Corriene offered up casually, picking at her porridge with her spoon.

"Bullshit." She looked up at him and saw that he was smirking.

"What?" Her eyebrows wrinkled in phony confusion.

"You can tell Uncle Evans what happened or I can make it up, it's up to you?" Corriene tried desperately not to blush.

"You're talking out of your arse Evans, I was tired, I went to sleep. That's it." Sipping her coffee she looked over the rim of her cup at him confidently.

"You got laid." The coffee in Corriene's mouth spewed over the table, the other crew members sat around them looked up to see what the commotion was about. Quickly grabbing a nearby cloth and trying to mop up the brown liquid she passed Evans a napkin while giving him a threatening stare. The pair finished their breakfasts in silence, when they were walking back to the yard Corriene couldn't help but ask why he thought what he thought.

"Because my friend, your hair is normally a goddamn mess at the best of times but this morning you look like you've been shagged through a hedge backwards." Evans laughed at the disgusted look she gave him and then draped his arm over her shoulder, giving her a squeeze.

"Dick."

* * *

"Well I guess that happened." Corriene stood leaning against the wall of Kirk's quarters, they'd been back on the Enterprise for three days and it was the first opportunity either of them had had to see one another. When the message had popped up on her PADD she'd broken into a grin, she had to be honest a part of her wondered whether she'd hear from him again. And that would have been fine, she was a grown woman not some love sick teenager, they'd always had chemistry and they'd had sex, really really good sex. If that had been it she'd have been disappointed, she had been warned to be fair, but she had never been at risk of going off to cry into her pillow all night.

"I guess it did." Kirk laughed, very much relieved that Corriene was acting so relaxed. Walking across the room Corriene picked up a statue from his desk, twisting it in her arms she looked back up to him.

"So, are you going to offer me a drink or is this one of those ' _no hard feelings_ ' conversations?" Her eyes sparkled with mischief and Kirk found himself drawn to her, taking the statue from her hands and setting it back down he slipped his arms through hers to lock behind her.

"This is definitely not one of those conversations… as far as I'm concerned." He added the last bit on as an afterthought. Corriene settled herself into his embrace, finding the whole state of affairs very easy.

"I think we're in violent agreement Captain."

"You know you've never used my first name." Kirk stroked his hand up and down her back, bringing his lips to her neck Corriene couldn't help but close her eyes and lean into his touch.

"Neither have you." She whispered back.

"Do you think it may sound weird?" He asked into her neckline.

"I don't know, maybe? Shall we try it?" Corriene was laughing lightly.

"On three?"

"On three." She confirmed, the pair counted down but it was only Kirk that spoke out loud the other's name.

"What's wrong with me?" Corriene asked laughing nervously.

"I don't know, but if that's our only problem I'm not worried." Corriene thumbed the fabric of Kirk's black shirt, letting her fingers fall between the buttons she undid the first one with one hand. Kirk looked down and then arched an eyebrow at her.

"Smooth move Corriene Lees." He commented dryly.

"Thanks, you want to see it again?" As he nodded his head Corriene undid the second button with one hand.

"I think I'm going to have to watch myself with you." Kirk pulled his hands back over her hips and brought them up to the first button of her blouse. Undoing the button with both his hands he gave her a wink. "I'm not risking it." Corriene couldn't help but laugh at his semi-serious tone. She didn't realise he had such a sense of humour, she was growing more and more attracted to him as every minute passed.

"Very wise." Bringing herself in she gave him a long passionate kiss all the while his hands worked away at undoing her buttons. "You need to leave that sort of stuff to the professionals." Kirk's eyes darkened and she knew he'd taken her glib comment as some sort of challenge, pulling the blouse from her shoulders and looking at her in a way that made her heart pound out of her chest Kirk flicked one finger under the strap of her bra. "Or maybe you don't?"

* * *

Lucignano had noticed Corriene Lees staring at him in the Engineering brief, she had never looked at him kindly but this was different. Her eyes kept shifting from him to Commander Scott, there was definitely something wrong. He'd known her long enough to read her thoughts on that expressive face of hers, his gaze flittered between her and Scotty, and then it came to him. She knew. Shit she knew. As soon as they were dismissed he bolted from the room, he needed to act fast, remove any evidence if there was any and work out how the hell she'd figured it out. He'd been guaranteed nobody would be able to tell! She'd been a thorn in his side for way too long, it was time to rectify that.

* * *

 **Three Weeks Later**

Corriene was on her last hour of shift when the comm came through for her to go to Scotty's office, making her way there she gave Evans a small wave as she went by. When Evans mouthed the words ' _What are you doing?_ ' Corriene shrugged her shoulders in response. When she entered the office the first face she saw was Scotty's, looking angry and disappointed. The next she saw was Lucignano's, he was altogether resplendent in his crisp red uniform and shit-eating grin. The third was Kirk's. His face was cold, unaffected and dispassionate. Looking between the three men Corriene was unsure as to what to do, she decided to turn her attention to Commander Scott.

"Sir?" Tucking her hair behind her ears she straightened her back, preparing herself for whatever was coming, Scotty exhaled slowly, visibly uncomfortable with the situation.

"Lieutenant Lees, we find ourselves in a strange situation. Usually when a complaint is made against a fellow Officer, anonymity is maintained however in this state of affairs Lieutenant Lucignano has been made aware of the complaint made against him given the fact that he has come forward with information against you Lees." Corriene listened carefully to Scotty's words, so Lucignano was trying to set her up?

"Commander Scott, to begin with, I have not made a complaint against Lieutenant Lucignano. I brought to you evidence of data being appropriated and the correlation related with Lieutenant Lucignano's shift patterns and possible motive." Her voice was calm and steady but inside she could feel herself uncoiling, the heat she could feel radiating off her cheeks told her that she definitely wasn't appearing as composed as she hoped.

"Aye Lass, you're right, my apologises. But I canny not act on Lieutenant Lucignano's complaint against you." Listening to Scotty's words she quickly glanced at Kirk who hadn't looked her way since she'd entered the room.

"May I ask what the complaint is?" It was then that she looked at Lucignano, who with his black hair and black eyes had never looked more intimidating.

"He has reason to believe that you have fabricated the data you've provided, we're going to have to carry out a full investigation, it's going to take a wee while Lass." The last part was uttered apologetically.

"What evidence has he provided to support his claim?"

"That's what we'll have to look into…" Scotty started.

"So none then…"

"Lieutenant." Kirk's voice was quiet but cautionary.

"For what inconceivable reason do you think I would want to setup this man?!" Her hands were on her hips, she was definitely pissed.

"There is a history of the pair of you coming up against one another Lees." Scotty answered tentatively.

"I take it I'm relieved of duty?" Corriene then asked angrily, Scotty just nodded. "You've always been a sonofabitch you know that!" She whispered to Lucignano, feeling her resolve all but disappear.

"Lieutenant." The warning came again from Kirk, she glanced at him, seeing his eyes telling her to shut her mouth, but she was angry. "This is bullshit." Shaking her head she closed her eyes, trying to regain some composure.

"You're to remain in your quarters Lieutenant Lees until further notice." Kirk crossed his arms across his chest irritably, when Lucignano laughed he laid into the man, told him he'd bring him up on insubordination charges and dismissed him immediately. When both he and Scotty had left the room, he turned to Corriene.

"What the hell Corriene?" He looked at her exasperated.

"He's distracting you, he's making you look at his left hand while he's stealing from you with his right! Come on! Can you honestly tell me you think I'd make this up, try to frame him? For what?! This supposed vendetta I have against the man? He's an idiot, always has been, he's dangerous and he's reached the end of his luck. I'm telling you, he's stealing data, I've been an Engineer long enough. I worked for years in the private sector, I'm a goddamn Fellow! I breezed through the Academy and I have more intelligence in my little finger than he does in his entire body, frankly I'm surprised he lasted this long!" Her eyes were prickling with tears, all her frustration bubbling to the surface. She was also upset because not once had Kirk shown her any kind of comfort, she'd thought that as soon as the other two men had left the room he would have hugged her or at the very least held her hand. But nothing, a part of her knew that it was probably for the best, she prided herself on being professional and she wouldn't expect anything less from him, still, it hurt.

"Corriene listen, my hands are tied…"

"I don't want to hear your excuses…"

"That's enough!" His outburst shocked her, closing her mouth she stood still and silent. Kirk was looking at her desperately, she wasn't sure whether he was angry at her or the situation. "Go to your quarters, you're dismissed." His words stung.

"Jim?" She sputtered his name quietly, it was the first time she'd ever used it.

"You're dismissed Lieutenant."

* * *

 ** _Thank you for reading, hope you're enjoying it. Please leave a review! XOXO LLAP ;-)_**


	9. Chapter 9

Kirk didn't come to see her, not on the first day, or the second or even the third. By the time the fourth day came round Corriene was pissed off. In her head she knew exactly why he hadn't been to see her and it made perfect sense, he couldn't be seen to be bias, to be swayed by a personal relationship while an official investigation was underway. Her heart though, her heart was breaking from not seeing him. For the short time they'd been together it had felt real and right and essential.

Paranoia was also setting in, did he believe that she could have tried to set Lucignano up? However much she tried to push that from her mind it kept creeping back in, usually when it was night time and she was desperately trying to get to sleep. For the first time since she'd enlisted, all those years ago she was questioning whether or not Starfleet was for her. She was finding it increasingly difficult to marry up her own character and moral compass with what a Starfleet Officer was supposed to be. Looking in the mirror she saw an imposter looking back.

Evans had been in touch, telling her not to worry and that the whole thing would blow over in a week. Apparently the word in Engineering was that nobody believed she was involved and everybody believed Lucignano was guilty. Ever since he'd been demoted he'd lost the respect and support of his peers, he hadn't had that far to fall in the first place. Still, she wasn't too sure, Lucignano wasn't going to go down without a fight at the very least. He'd been indignant when she'd fired him all those years ago, if any of them thought he'd accept being caught now they had no idea!

She'd kept a copy of the data she'd given to Scotty, looking over it again and again she tried to work out where he might have suggested it was fake. In her eyes there wasn't anything but who knew what he'd given them? Evans had told her he was doing a secondary analysis, knowing what they knew now he was confident he'd find substantial evidence pointing to Lucignano. He also wanted to know who he was selling it to, besides it was going to be Starfleet Intelligence's first question.

She'd had enough, deciding the best thing she could do was have a shower she stood, groaned out loud in frustration and went to her bathroom.

"Computer, Corelli Concerto Grosso in G minor, op. six, number eight." The music filled her quarters and she instantly felt the tensions in her shoulders ebb away. Pulling off her uniform she stepped under the water, comforted by the feeling of it beating down on her face and shoulders. She was going to wash her hair twice, she deserved it.

The sound of the cello, violins and running water masked the sound of somebody overriding the lock and walking in.

* * *

Kirk was kicking himself, he should have just gone to see her. After their meeting with Scotty and Lucignano he'd felt awful, seeing the utter outrage and hurt on her face had nearly broken him. The worst part was, that until he had seen with his own eyes her dramatic expression and knew for sure she was guiltless he'd doubted her, for a second he'd wondered whether or not she had set up Lucignano.

He'd instructed Scotty to make the investigation his priority, he didn't want this whole thing going on for any longer than it had to. Stealing data was a serious offence and if Lucignano had been taking it to sell to the private sector or who knows where the guy was looking at a lengthy sentence. He checked the PADD on his desk again, nothing from Scotty. Exhaling slowly Kirk rubbed at his eyes, he hoped to god Corriene understood that he couldn't go see her, he hoped to god that what they had started together wouldn't go down in flames! The time they had spent had been some of the best in his life, he could feel it in his gut that he was growing attached to her more and more. He was in danger of losing the woman he was falling in love with.

* * *

"Come in." Kirk walked into McCoy's quarters later that day.

"Where are you Bones?" He asked looking around, a hand popped up from the high back chair that was facing away from the door. Walking round he saw that his friend was slouched down, book in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other.

"How are you Jim?" McCoy asked, glancing up at Kirk and then back to his book.

"Honestly? Terrible." Kirk helped himself to a drink and then took the chair opposite, picking up a discarded book from the table in front of him he leafed through the pages. It was some old medical journal, from the late twenty first century. Setting it back down he rubbed a hand over his face wearily.

"Hmm, let me guess? It doesn't happen to be related to the fact that some pretty young thing you like is confined to her quarters and may possibly be committing theft does it?"

"That isn't funny." Kirk answered solemnly.

"I never said it was Jim, but it's near on damnit the truth ain't it?" McCoy sat himself up and placed his book on the side table. "You know how to pick them don't you?"

"She's a good woman Bones, she hasn't done anything wrong. Lucignano is just stalling." It was Kirk's turn to slouch.

"For what reason?" It was a legitimate question, Kirk thought about it for a moment.

"I don't know?" He answered.

"Well Jim, congratulations, you really do know how to make things complicated don't you?! Have you never heard the saying ' _don't shit where you eat'?_ " McCoy stood and went to pour himself another drink.

"Come on Bones! You know better than anybody that relationships develop on long missions, you're the expert in what deep space travel does to people. And I don't know but since I met her I feel like somethings changed, I have a purpose again. She makes me laugh, she's intelligent and caring. I find myself wanting to be a better man because of her." McCoy listened and then shook his head slowly.

"Well it sounds like you're suffering from a bad case of ' _puppy love_ ' for Ms Corriene Lees." Smiling, McCoy gave Kirk a wink trying to lighten the mood.

"Is that your professional opinion Doctor?"

"Of course! And I'm afraid to tell ya there's no cure." Kirk's comm buzzed.

"Kirk here."

"Captain, it's Scott." Kirk looked nervously to McCoy.

"What've you got for me Mister Scott?"

"Captain, the data missing was definitely taken by Lieutenant Lucignano Sir, I'm in no doubt." Kirk visibly relaxed, the weight lifting from his chest.

"Is there any evidence of Lieutenant Lees being involved in any way?" He had to ask.

"No Sir, the Lassie was telling the truth and I canny believe I ever thought otherwise." Kirk felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest, he shook his head clearing the sense of relief and focused on what he had to do next.

"Okay Scotty, meet me at Lucignano's quarters with a security team, something tells me he's not going to go quietly into the night."

"Aye Sir, with pleasure." Kirk stood and put his glass down, when McCoy stood too and began walking to the door Kirk asked him what he was doing.

"Are you kidding Jim?! I wouldn't miss this for the world."

* * *

Corriene reluctantly turned off the shower, she watched as the water was sucked away under her feet. Wriggling her toes she smiled at the pink nail varnish, wearing boots all day had its drawbacks. She missed the feel of sandals on her feet, of being able to see her freshly applied pedicure. It was one of the few self-indulgences she had every allowed herself. Stepping out of the cubicle she didn't bother using a towel to dry herself. Instead, she stickily pulled on her white sleep shorts and vest. Running a comb through her hair and brushing her teeth she turned her head left to right whilst looking in the mirror, she looked tired. Twitching her nose and pouting her lips at her reflection she stuck out her tongue before looking away. When she walked out into her living area she immediately felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, something was wrong.

"You just couldn't keep your fucking nose out could you Lees?" Startled, Corriene jumped and grabbed at her chest and pounding heart. Her head spun to the couch where she saw Lucignano was sat there, looking casually at her with a foul smug grin.

"What the hell are you doing in my quarters?!" She asked taking a step back and taking deep breaths to try and calm herself.

"I wanted to speak to you, ask you why you've always had a problem with me."

"I've not always had a problem with you Lucignano…"

"I beg to differ," He cut her off, his voice rising and sounding angrier. Corriene was getting worried, in her head she started to formulate what to do next. "You've never liked me and now you think you've got me." Lucignano shifted in his seat and seeing that Corriene instinctively flinched at his movement, grinned.

"You were stealing data, you were selling data. What did you think would happen?" She tried to sound calm, unaffected by his presence. Try as she might though she couldn't help the fact that her hands were shaking.

"You gotta pay those bills somehow right?!" He laughed.

"I want you to leave, now." She had backed herself up against her desk, racking her brain trying to remember the whereabouts of her comm badge. Lucignano pushed himself off the couch quickly, in a second he was stood in front of her.

He was at least a foot taller and a foot wider, he knew he was intimidating, he'd used it against people his entire life.

"I said leave." Corriene tried to match his stare, not look scared but she was petrified out of her mind. Her hand had been behind her on the desk, scrambling for her comm badge but she hadn't been able to find it. Not knowing what was going to happen next she twisted and turned her back to him, her eyes searching. It was then that she felt Lucignano's huge hands grab the back of her head and slam her into the desk, he watched as she bounced off the hard surface and fell to the floor visibly out cold. The bridge of her nose was split and blood poured from the viciously inflicted injury, looking down at her Lucignano took a deep breath. He'd hated the woman since she'd fired him all those years ago.

"Who do you think you are?" He spat at her as she began to come to, shaking her head and holding her face with her hands. "It's people like you that make me sick you know that, breezing along with not a care in the world and then BAM! You go and screw up somebody else's life without a care in the world. You know my Wife left me after you fired me, took the kids six hundred miles away from me!"

Corriene pulled herself up onto her knees trying to stem the flow of blood. Peering up through her tears she watched as Lucignano paced to and fro, he was still yelling, talking to himself and crashing his arms into her furniture. Slowly she began crawling back to her desk, hoping to god that her comm badge was still there. Pulling herself up she chaotically searched once more, in her peripheral vision she could see that he was bounding towards her again. She wasn't quick enough though and his hands found themselves around her neck.

"You have no idea who I was selling the data to do you? They're very very dangerous men and when I don't come up with the goods they're going to come looking for me. You, you I'm going to tell them are the reason they don't have what they want and when they take one look at you you're going to wish you had never been born!" She spat the blood that had pooled in her mouth onto his face.

"Go to hell!" Corriene glared at him with hatred, his hands tightened around her throat and she found herself clawing at him.

Clarity came over her and in that moment of desperation, as the sound of the multiple tempi and the range of major and minor suspensions of the classical music that still played she brought her knee up into his groin. Lucignano reeled back in agony, swearing and spluttering. This was her chance, she made a mad dash for the door knowing that at if he got his hands onto her again there was no doubt he would kill her. But then as she saw her hand reach out to open the door she felt his hands around her legs and her body tumbled to the floor. Flung onto her back Corriene felt Lucignano's weight bear down on her thighs, pinning her in place. Their clenched fists battled with one another, punching and grasping and tearing at clothing. She wasn't going to let his hands find her neck again, if it was the last thing she did.

* * *

Kirk and McCoy were silent as they walked to Lucignano's quarters, there wasn't anything to say. Kirk was fighting against his own emotions, he was angry as hell. Angry that a member of his crew had put the lives of everybody on board in danger, not only the Enterprise but every other ship and angry that Corriene's reputation as an exceptional Engineer and Officer had been brought into question. The woman had saved the lives of an entire deck, changed the lives of people she'd never met on planets she'd never been to before. She'd enlisted in response to the atrocities carried out by Khan and served the Federation admirably, what had this man done? Put people in danger and stole for his own gain, it made Kirk sick to his stomach. The worst thing was that it had been Corriene who had known what type of man Lucignano was all along and she'd tried to warn him.

As they turned the corner they saw Scotty coming from the other direction being followed by a security team.

"Commander Scott, are you ready?" Kirk asked outside Lucignano's door.

"Aye Captain." Scotty was noticeably angry also.

"Alright." Kirk nodded at one of the Security Officers, stepping forward the man inputted a code into the display panel next to the door. He was the first one to enter, followed by Kirk and McCoy. Scotty followed hot on the Doctor's heels, his eyes scanning the room for Lucignano. When they didn't see him Kirk watched as one of the Security Officers went to look in the bathroom, when he stepped back out and shook his head Kirk's gut filled with dread. Going to the computer on Lucignano's desk Kirk roughly punched the touchpad.

"Computer, locate Lieutenant Fabio Lucignano." The computer's voice filled the room.

"Lieutenant Lucignano is currently on Deck fourteen." Kirk looked at McCoy in anguish.

"What is it Jim?" McCoy asked, concerned for his friend.

"Corriene's quarters, they're on deck fourteen."

* * *

 _ **Thanks for reading, hope you're still enjoying the story?! Please let me know what you think ;-) LLAP XOXO**_


	10. Chapter 10

As Kirk ran towards Corriene's quarters he didn't wait for the security team, McCoy or even Scotty to catch up. He knew he was there, with her. And for a reason he could never work out, even years later, he already knew that he hadn't gone to her quarters just for a chat. He'd felt it in his gut, it had twisted and tugged at him instantaneously.

"Out of my way!" He shouted as he ran through the corridors, Crewman and Officers fleeing in every direction. Skidding on the floor he slammed his fist into the lock panel by the door, not waiting for it to open fully he slid through and in a blink of an eye his worst nightmare came true. In front of him he saw Lucignano kneeling on the floor, his face full of rage and anger raining a barrage of blows down on the woman underneath him, Corriene.

Kirk saw nothing else before he threw himself forwards and pummelled into the enormous frame of Lucignano, knocking the man backwards and off Corriene. Kirk's fist pulled back and tightened until his knuckles were white and with all of his strength he brought it forward, connecting with the man's jaw. That's all he managed to do before the security team pinned Lucignano to the floor, all the while kicking and shouting.

"Jim!" McCoy's voice brought him back to reality, turning he looked at Scotty first who was stood on the side lines, his face painted with horror. It was then that he looked to Corriene, he felt the bile rise to his throat and into his mouth.

Messily kneeling at her side his hands hovered over her, not knowing where he could hold her without touching a bruise or cut. Her eyes were wide in horror and when she first felt McCoy's hand on her shoulder she recoiled uncontrollably.

"Hey, it's alright, it's alright. Lees, listen to me, he's gone, let me help you." McCoy's words weren't getting through to her Kirk could tell. Filling her vision he leant over her, tenderly stroking her forehead and hair.

"Corriene, Corriene, it's me. You're okay." He watched as her eyes focussed on him, her breathing was quick and shallow. He watched as she was overcome by a fit of coughing, blood poured from her mouth. She then stared at him and slowly, her breathing evened out and she nodded at him over and over again as if reassuring herself that everything would be all right.

"GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF OF ME!" Kirk's attention was drawn back to Lucignano, pointing his finger at one of the security officers Kirk shouted back.

"Get him the hell out of here, NOW!" The security officer nodded and the men began to drag Lucignano out, Scotty left behind them. He wanted to make sure the Bastard didn't hurt anybody else.

"I'm okay." Hearing Corriene mutter those two words made Kirk laugh out of sheer agony, of course the woman was saying she was fine.

"You're not fine damnit! Lay still!" McCoy was running his hands up and down her limbs and when he pressed her abdomen Corriene winced and swore. "You're ribs are cracked." He muttered, more to himself than anyone else. Kirk drew his attention back to Corriene, she was looking at him with one eye, the other swollen shut. He could see the tears fill and fall down the side of her cheek.

"Jim?" Her voice breaking as she spoke he watched as the woman in front of him lost her resolve, he at once scooped her up in his arms holding her tight.

"Easy now Jim." McCoy warned.

"I'm here Co." Kirk's own voice cracked as he brought himself up onto his knees and then stood making sure Corriene was tight against his chest.

"Let's get her to sickbay." McCoy instructed quietly, troubled by what he was witnessing. All the way to the med bay Kirk watched her soundlessly crying, her body felt fragile and broken in his arms and he couldn't bring himself to look at her face anymore, the bruises and blood covering every square inch.

McCoy worked silently alongside Nurse Chapel, providing pain relief and a mild sedative. Slowly but surely they mended skin and bone. Kirk stood by Corriene's side the entire time, holding her hand up next to her head and resting it on the pillow. Every now and again he'd move their hands so he could wipe away the silent tears still falling from her eyes with the back of his hand.

When Chapel came to remove her bloodied vest and shorts she looked to Kirk anxiously, she hadn't questioned the fact that he had been by her side since the moment he'd walked through the door carrying her protectively. She hadn't blinked an eye when he'd kissed her head tenderly and whispered in her ear, now though, with something so private and difficult she had to make sure her priority was Corriene, making sure she was taken care of and comfortable was her only priority. Her duty was to her patient.

"It's alright." Corriene answered the unspoken question, squeezing Kirk's hand tighter. For his part, Kirk turned away and concentrated on Corriene's face. It was now marred with pinkish blotches after being healed by McCoy, but he could finally see her iridescent blue eyes and the freckles on her nose.

"Remind me, what was the nickname you use to have?" He asked, smiling lovingly down at her.

"Cookie, you know that." Corriene answered knowing what he was up to but happy to be distracted from what Chapel and McCoy were doing.

"That's right, Cookie! I like it." Kirk gave her a wink and she found herself ever so slightly smiling back.

"You and nicknames." She said, wincing when McCoy prodded away at her ribs, it caught Kirk's attention also and he turned unconsciously to see what the matter was.

He wished he hadn't, seeing her marred bare chest filled him with unadulterated rage once more.

"Have you ever had a nickname?" Corriene was unaware of what was going through his mind, he closed his eyes for a second, mentally pulling himself back together before he turned back to look at her.

"Unfortunately no, however much I tried to make one stick." Kirk retorted jovially, a dark cloud fell over her face and he could tell she was becoming upset again. "Hey, what you doing? You're okay, you're safe now. What's wrong?" Her chin was trembling, he could see she was using all her strength to not just cry out and lose control.

"I was so scared, I tried to stop him but he was too strong! The sonofabitch wouldn't stop!" Kirk nodded wordlessly, his hand smoothed down her now dry curls. Some of them were tinged pink with blood and he found himself trying to brush it out with his fingers.

"There you go Corriene, I nice big warm blanket." Chapel's voice interrupted the pair as she tucked the blanket almost comically under Corriene's chin and shoulders.

"Thank you." Corriene spoke to Chapel gratefully.

"Don't mention it, now get some rest and call me if you need anything." Kirk knew that it was his cue to leave.

"I'll be back in a little while, you get some sleep." He leant over her and pressed his lips gently to her forehead, Corriene's eyes were already closing, mentally and physically exhausted from the ordeal. As he walked away from her bed McCoy approached, his arms crossed and looking very grave.

"She'll be alright Jim." He offered quietly, although his jaw was tight with fury.

"I know she will." Kirk nodded and patted McCoy's arm. "Thanks Bones." He set back off towards the door.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go see him right now Jim." McCoy called after him, concerned about the current emotional state of his friend. Kirk didn't even bother to turn back round when he answered.

"Oh I don't know? I think this is the perfect time Bones."

* * *

 **The Next Day**

"Jim, I need a minute with my patient if you don't mind." McCoy looked at his friend sympathetically, Kirk dipped his head and stood from the stool he'd been sitting on next to Corriene's bed.

"Of course." He turned to Corriene. "I'll just be outside."

"Get back to work Captain, you can't be here all day. You've got a ship to run." Corriene raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips, it was the first time he'd seen her pull her usual facial expressions and he knew right then and there she was feeling better.

"I'll think about it." He answered, having no intention whatsoever of going to the Bridge. McCoy watched Kirk reluctantly leave the private room and then turned his attention back to Corriene. Placing his hand on her shoulder he smiled uncharacteristically.

"You're doing really well Corriene." He encouraged.

"What did he do to me?" She asked, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"I wouldn't worry about that right now Darlin', we're fixing you up…"

"Doctor." Corriene interrupted. "I want to know." She looked at him fixedly.

"Damnit woman what do you want me to say, he beat the shit out of you!" McCoy's hard exterior had begun to crack.

"I think I got a couple of punches in there myself Doctor McCoy." The corners of Corriene's lips were upturned ever so slightly, he realised she was joking.

"What do you remember?" He asked, trying to calm himself. In all his years as a Doctor he'd never seen anyone receive such a thrashing.

"Not much, I remember going back to my quarters and having a shower. I remember seeing him sat there smiling, asking him to leave. I was looking for my comm badge on my desk, I knew as soon as I saw him he was going to…" Closing her eyes and shaking her head Corriene couldn't find the word to describe the dread she had felt in that moment. "He hit my head against the desk, when I went for the door he stopped me. I remember seeing him above me, spitting and shouting and then I remember seeing you and Jim, that's all. Was he here, In the Med Bay?" She suddenly felt nervous.

"No and he'll be feeling it right about now, Jim sent him straight to the brig." He looked down at her medical records. "Maybe we should go through this later…" McCoy looked at her fretfully, he wasn't sure if it was too early for her to have to deal with the realities of what she had gone through.

"Please Doctor." Corriene asked determinedly, McCoy exhaled slowly and looked back to the PADD.

"You had a Mandibular and Orbital fracture, multiple lacerations to the face and torso, pulmonary contusion…"

"He finally really did a number on me didn't he?" Corriene joked but her eyes were filling with tears as she spoke.

"We took pictures Corriene, as evidence." He felt like she should know, he didn't want her not knowing they existed.

"Okay." She didn't know what else to say. "Shit, I must have looked like a right state?" Her tears were running down her cheeks again, she wiped at them carefully, her skin and face still sore to the touch.

"Oh I don't know? Jim's gotton pretty banged up in the past." The pair of them fell into a silence. "I'll make sure you have somebody to talk to Corriene but first I want you to get some rest okay? Skin and bone I can heal easily, we need to make sure emotionally there isn't any lasting damage."

"Okay, thanks Doctor." McCoy left the room, on the other side of the door he let out the breath he had been holding in.

"Doctor McCoy, are you alright?" Chapel asked, coming up and standing beside him.

"The damned sonofabitch tried to kill her!" He ground out through gritted teeth.

"He's in the brig?" She asked.

"Yes and he's damned lucky he is too because if Jim doesn't kill him I may well do."

* * *

"So, what happens now?" Corriene asked folding her nightgown around her waist and tying the belt gently.

"The Enterprise has plotted a course to Outstation Twelve; that's where he'll be handed over to Starfleet. From there they'll travel back to San Francisco where a panel will deliberate his sentence." Kirk answered. Corriene didn't respond, it was a lot of information to take in and her mind was swimming with all the possible outcomes.

McCoy had kept her in the sick bay for five days before reluctantly allowing her to rest in her own quarters. Of the nine days since McCoy had reluctantly let her rest in her quarters he had visited her nine times. Being the Ship's psychologist, she had spoken to him at length, sometimes finding it easier to speak with him than with Kirk. With Kirk Corriene could immediately see the anger and hurt it caused him when she explained her feelings, or fears. She didn't blame him for it, she wasn't angry at him. She knew it was a natural reaction and really, it let her know that he cared deeply about her.

For her part she had been cautiously optimistic with how well she was coping. Sure she was skittish and she'd find herself crying for no apparent reason but on the whole her anger and upset was well and truly directed in the right direction and that direction was Lucignano.

"You won't have to be present at the hearing Co." Kirk mentioned as an afterthought.

"I know, is it wrong of me that I wish that I could be there?" She asked as she played with the belt on her nightgown.

"No, I can understand you wanting to be there."

"But you don't think it's a good idea?" She asked, watching his reaction carefully.

"No, I don't." He sat down beside her and placed his hand on her knee, as she rested her head on his shoulder Corriene wondered if there instant affection was destiny or a product of the traumatic event they had both experienced? The latter possibility wasn't a cause for concern to her, feeling confident that they would have reached the same journey's end anyway; they just took a wholly different route! "What are you thinking about?" Kirk had been watching her, seeing the mix of emotions play over her face.

"I was thinking that this wasn't how I had envisioned our time together, me getting my arse handed to me and you having to play Nurse and Carer." She answered honestly.

"No, it certainly wasn't mine either!" Kirk laughed, kissing the top of her head. "But here we are Cookie."

"You don't have to be, if you don't want." Corriene stated as she pulled her head up off his shoulder.

"What do you mean?" Creasing his brow Kirk twisted his body to face Corriene's.

"I mean there would be no hard feelings if you wanted to exit stage left on this." Corriene's eyes were wide with trepidation and she kept biting her bottom lip. Kirk considered her words, she'd have been right a few years back, he would have wanted out. The idea of giving himself to someone so wholly had never been something he'd wanted to do, didn't see the necessity of it. Now though, from the time he'd spent with Corriene and even the shit show they were going through currently he had never wanted to be anywhere else other than by her side.

"I'm not going anywhere okay?" His tone was stern, Corriene found herself nodding.

"Okay."

* * *

 _ **Thank you for the reviews, they're very much appreciated and it's great that you're all swept away in the adventure and soap opera of this story! Thank you for the follows and favourites also, I'm loving writing this one! It's s over the top! LOL LLAP ;-) XOXO**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Two Months Later**

Corriene swung her racket forward hitting the tennis ball clear over the net, Evans who was sweating profusely launched himself towards it but missed by an inch.

"Forty Love!" Corriene shouted happily.

"Christ Lees! When did you get so good at Tennis?" He asked, panting.

"I've always been good at tennis, you were just always playing with Emily, she was carrying you every game!" Corriene shouted over the court. The pair walked to the side and picked up their water bottles, taking large long gulps respectively.

"When is she is back from the Science Station?" Corriene asked as she wiped the sweat from her face.

"Six more weeks." Evans answered looking glum.

"Aww, you'll be okay. She'll be back to look after you soon enough." Corriene teased, rubbing his arm patronisingly.

"You're definitely in better shape than you were though." Evans continued with their previous conversation as he put his racket away.

"I do go to the gym more often now."

"Is that the influence of the Boyfriend?" Evans asked, winking his eye.

"Partly, but it was also something I wanted to do. It kept my mind occupied, you know?"

"Yeah I get it, I was telling you for ages before to get fitter. I was fed up of having to watch your fat ass climb slowly up a Jeffries tube." Evans deadpanned, Corriene's jaw dropped and she whacked his arm with her racket.

"Ow!"

"Don't ow me! You deserve it! Honestly, I hope you don't say things like that to Emily?! How did you manage to even get married in the first place?!" They left the court and started walking down the corridor as they carried on joking and joshing with each other.

"Don't ask me! I'm still shocked she said yes." Evans made a funny face that made Corriene laugh. "You know she got offered the U.S.S Gallant?" He added.

"No I didn't! Is she going to take it?"

"She's not sure, I said she should." They entered the turbolift and Corriene leant against the wall.

"What would you do?"

"Hope that she'd give me a job when she's Head of Department!" He answered jokingly. "Neither of us wants to have a family, we might as well see how far we can get out here." Evans commented, his arm outstretched as he spoke representing the expanse of space.

"Let me know what she decides."

"I will, well this is my stop. I'll see you later." Evans gave her a wave and stepped out of the turbolift. As Corriene carried on to her deck she thought about her own future, what did the universe have in store for her?

In her quarters she showered and then settled down at her desk, seeing that she had received a message she tapped lightly on the console. It was from Starfleet Headquarters. Her stomach churned slightly, for the most part she hadn't consumed herself with knowing what was happening with Lucignano. The investigation into the stolen data was running concurrently with a separate panel deliberating his sentence for his charges relating to the attack. Corriene remembered when Kirk told her about the charges, initially believing he would be charged with assault with attempt to commit great bodily harm, however after McCoy had provided evidence of the extent of her injuries Starfleet's Judge Advocate General had fought for attempted murder and won.

It had come as quite a shock to her and for a good week or two it had unsettled her to think that the man really could have wanted to kill her. Focusing back on her console she read the message, it was notification of his sentence relating to the stolen data. Twelve months rehabilitation and dishonourable discharge, sitting back in her chair Corriene let out a long slow breath; it was what she was expecting. She opened a comm with Kirk, knowing he was in his own quarters.

"Hey Cookie, what you up to?" She smiled when she heard his voice.

"Twelve months, dishonourable discharge." She stated simply, there was a pause before Kirk spoke.

"It's what we expected." His voice was tight.

"It is."

"Do you want me to come round?"

"No, I'm okay."

"You sure?"

"Sure, well I guess that's round one over with." She stared at the comm as she spoke, she regretted saying he didn't have to come round to see her but she knew it wasn't a good idea. She was on an early shift and he'd just got back from an away mission.

"It's a clear cut case Co, it'll be over before you know it."

"You promise?" She asked teasingly.

"Promise Co, I'll see you soon."

"See you." Ending the comm Corriene let her head rest on her desk. She was tired, she'd had enough. She hoped Kirk was right, that it would be over soon. Knowing he was somewhere getting the help he needed and not a danger to others would be the last piece of the puzzle for her.

* * *

Pulling the large fleece hood over her head Corriene exhaled deliberately, watching her breath cloud white and drift away in front on her. The snow covered the streets and houses, families walked along the avenues laughing and smiling. It was a beautiful city on a beautiful planet. Corriene had always wanted to visit Muohta and she couldn't believe her luck when Kirk had mentioned whilst shaving that they were passing and he was thinking of allowing a couple of days of shore leave.

"Beatriz! Over here!" Corriene shouted across the road, Beatriz King was a Phytologist on board the Enterprise and the pair had hit it off when they had found themselves sitting next to one another on the shuttle ride out to the Enterprise for the first time. The woman stopped walking and turned her head in the direction of Corriene, spotting her she broke out into a smile and waved enthusiastically. As the woman approached Corriene she stretched out her arms so that they could embrace.

"How gorgeous is this?" Beatriz asked in her usual excited tone.

"It's beautiful! Do you still want to visit the caves?"

"Of course, one of the locals was telling me that if you tip them a little extra they'll take you into the ante chamber and you're not normally allowed in there." The two women had hooked arms, one to keep together in the crowd and two to keep warm. Corriene kept finding herself sniffing it was so cold. "I also heard the restaurant where we're staying is excellent." Beatriz continued, it had started to snow and Corriene wriggled her nose when a snowflake landed on her cheek.

"We should eat there then, after the caves." Corriene suggested.

"That would be great, as long as you don't already have any plans?"

"No, no plans."

* * *

"Jim! What the hell is going on? I have no idea how to play this game?" McCoy was scowling at Kirk, the pair jostled in a crowd that stood round the large gaming table. Tokens were being thrown everywhere, cards were being flipped and pulled away or handed out. Looking above him Kirk saw through the smoke filled air that there was another floor and from there, leaning over a balcony more people were bidding and gambling, letting small wooden buckets on string travel up and down so that their bets could be placed on the same table.

"Neither do I Bones but it's fun as hell!" Kirk grinned widely, he watched McCoy shake his head and squeeze out of the crowd away from the table. "Bones! Hold up!" Kirk shouted after him. They made their way to a quieter spot in the gaming house and watched the crowd, the atmosphere was electric.

"Gentleman." Kirk turned to see who had spoken to them; an old woman dressed in black robes bowed her head stoically. She was immaculately coiffured and smelt of cinnamon, she had obviously been a great beauty in her time as she still held an air of splendour around her. "Can I interest you in a more refined, quieter game perhaps? Something more to your liking and expertise?" McCoy put his hand on Kirk's shoulder and pulled him back slightly.

"Thanks Darlin' but no thanks, come on Jim I think it's…"

"Hold up Bones, let the woman speak. My apologies, my friend here is a little rough round the edges." Kirk smiled and lathered on the charm.

"If you'd like to follow me, I'll show you to one of the more private rooms. Please, let us ensure your stay is a pleasant one." Kirk beamed at McCoy.

"My god man! Are you damned insane?" McCoy whispered harshly as he followed behind.

"Lighten up Doctor, you might even find you have some fun."

"Fun? Fun? You'll be lucky if you wake up with your internal organs still inside you!" The woman in front opened an enormous door revealing a large round table in the middle of the room. Around it sat a myriad of aliens, all quiet and staring at both Kirk and McCoy.

"Take a seat Gentleman." Kirk followed eagerly and took a seat between what looked like a Sasquatch and a fish-like person. "Enjoy." Bowing her head she left the room leaving Kirk eager to begin and McCoy looking for the exits.

* * *

Corriene finished her glass of wine between tears of laughter, the two women had gone to visit the famous caves of Muohta which turned out to be nothing more than a glorified pothole with a couple of paintings on the wall that Beatriz was sure had only been done a couple of years previously. They'd felt so sorry for their tour guide that they'd dutifully listened for over an hour about how supposedly the meaning of life emanated from the cave and when it came time to leave they had given him all the tokens they had left.

"Oh Beatriz bless him, I don't think I could have handled him saying " _Behold the wonder of the caves!_ " one more time!" Beatriz wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.

"Stop Corriene, stop I'm going to wet myself!" That just sent the women into a bigger fit of giggles until the waiter who was stood nearby coughed loudly and they realised how obnoxious they were being.

"Come on, let's go." Grabbing their coats they made their way out, every now and again sniggering to themselves when a funny thought would come to mind. The wine wasn't helping either.

"That was great Beatriz, thanks for going with me." Corriene gave the petite woman a tight hug.

"Thank you too, I loved it!" Watching her walk away Corriene felt a small yawn tug at her mouth so decided the best thing for her to do was go to bed herself. Making her way to her room she opened the door as quietly as she could. They hadn't agreed on a time to meet so Corriene wasn't sure whether or not Kirk was back or not. Peering round she saw that the room was untouched except for just his bag that lay at the foot of the bed. Letting herself fall back onto the bed she closed her eyes and willed away the spinning in her head. The third bottle had definitely been unnecessary, kicking her boots off she didn't bother getting changed but simply turned onto her side and closed her eyes.

* * *

The incessant beeping of her comm badge finally made it through Corriene's thick head, opening her eyes she could see that it was daylight outside and she was lying diagonally on the bed still in her clothes.

"Jim?" She spoke into the empty room but the only thing she could hear was the comm badge still beeping, tossing herself onto her back she groaned as she reached above her head and picked up the device from the bedside table.

"Yeah?" She groaned out.

"Lieutenant Lees, this is Commander Spock." Well if she wasn't awake before she certainly was now, clearing her throat and sitting up she tried to clear her head too.

"Yes Sir, can I help you?" Her mind was spinning.

"I have been unable to make contact with the Captain, are you aware of his location?" That woke her up.

"No Sir, I haven't seen him since yesterday morning. Is his communicator working?" She shifted to the end of the bed and slowly eased her legs and feet onto the floor.

"Affirmative Lieutenant but the Captain has yet to answer."

"Have you tried Doctor McCoy?" There was a pause.

"I have not." Came the simple response.

"I suggest you do Sir, I believe the pair of them was planning on spending the day together." She was pulling on her boots as she spoke.

"Thank you Lieutenant, I'm sending a Security team down to the planet."

"Alright Commander, I'll take a look myself if that's alright?"

"Yes Lieutenant." As soon as the communication ended Corriene dashed to the bathroom, quickly brushing her teeth and running cold water over her face. Her hair was even more chaotic than usual but she didn't have the time nor the inclination to worry about it. Quickly looking through Kirk's bag she pulled a tricorder and phaser out and tucked them into her coat. Grabbing a small toolkit from her own bag she left the room walking down the corridor briskly.

"Doctor McCoy!" Banging on the door Corriene already knew he wouldn't answer, he wouldn't answer because he wasn't there. As she made her way down to Reception Corriene pulled her lips tightly together in thought, of course he'd bloody got lost! Or worse still kidnapped!

"Good morning." The sweet looking woman behind the desk greeted her.

"Err hi…"

"I hope you slept well?" Corriene felt flustered.

"Yes, thank you. I was just wondering if…"

"Breakfast is served between seven and…" Corriene had had enough of the woman interrupting her.

"I'm not bothered about the bloody breakfast!" She almost shouted, the Receptionist looked shocked but composed herself quickly and plastered on the fake smile from before.

"How can I help you Madam?"

"If I wanted a good night out, drinks, gambling…where would I go?" The woman hesitated and looked nervous, peering left and right she leant over the desk beckoning Corriene to come closer.

"Houlkers, two streets down." She whispered, Corriene gave her a wink and thanked the woman and then headed out into the cold air.

"For goodness sake Jim!"

* * *

Corriene stood outside Houlkers, it reminded her of the Casinos in Monte Carlo with its gilded trimmings. The place appeared to be open so she climbed the steps towards the large wooden doors, walking through her senses were assaulted with the smell of liquor, smoke and perfume. It didn't have the feel of some cheap saloon, the clientele were clearly well off and the number of cameras she spotted in the ceilings and walls ensured that there was probably very little trouble. She began walking round the parameter of the Casino floor, at that time of the morning the places was quite quiet. Corriene spotted just a few old ladies sinking their coins into the machines, slowly dragging from a cigarette and sipping their coffee. Seeing a very tall large gentleman who was wearing a casino uniform, Corriene decided to bite the bullet.

"Excuse me, Sir?" She spoke politely.

"Yes Ma'am, how may I help?" The very tall large man had an unusually soft tone and it took Corriene by surprise, she decided that he must have been a gentle giant and instantly took a liking to him.

"I'm looking for two friends of mine; they came here last night and didn't make it back to the hotel." She tried to keep her tone light, rolling her eyes as if it was no big deal and she was use to this type of behaviour.

"Forgive my crudeness Ma'am but they might have got lucky, you know?" He said, giving her a wink. Corriene couldn't help but squish up her nose in disgust.

"Yeah maybe, is there anywhere else they could have gone do you think?"

"We could go and check the surveillance footage?" He suggested, Corriene nodded her head enthusiastically and thanked the man. "There's not many places they could have gotton to, I wouldn't worry too much about your friends." Corriene just smiled tightly in response.

Corriene sat and watched the entire night's surveillance footage, she watched Kirk and McCoy arrive, gamble, talk to some women and then talk to an older woman.

"Who's that?" She asked.

"That's Madam Sirvain, she runs the private rooms." He answered, Corriene watched Kirk and McCoy follow the woman and enter another room.

"Can we look at the footage from that room?" Corriene began to panic when the man started shaking his head no.

"There isn't any." He confirmed, Corriene thought for a second, not knowing what to do next.

"Can we look at the exits?"

"Yeah of course, now I know who they are I'll run their faces through the system and it will automatically pick them up leaving. Save you a bit of time at least!" He chuckled, typing away on his console.

"Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it." The footage paused and Corriene could see clear as day McCoy and Kirk leaving with a group of people.

"Dick." She whispered under her breath, it was a singular insult but it applied to both men.

* * *

 ** _As always, thank you for the follows and favourites! And as always the reviews, LLAP ;-) XOXO_**


	12. Chapter 12

As Corriene trudged through the snow she looked down at the piece of paper in her hand, on it was the address of a private house the man at the Casino believed Kirk and McCoy would be. She'd asked him at the time if they were in trouble when he'd been hesitant to even give her the address in the first place. When she had insisted he'd made her promise him she wasn't going to go up there alone. It was up a steep hill and the snow was coming down thicker than the day before when she had visited the caves. In her rush to leave she'd also forgotten her hat and her head was freezing, she'd had to use the back of her mitten to wipe her runny nose over and over again. She was fully prepared to reach this house, find them both passed out on the floor from too much booze and have to drag their sorry behinds back to the hotel where Spock and the Security team would be waiting. The man at the Casino kept popping into her head though and she wondered whether she'd made a mistake by breaking her promise of not going alone.

The house was huge; there was no other way of describing it. Unlike the traditional terraces of the town this was modern and singular. Making her way down the driveway Corriene kept checking her surroundings, it was deadly quiet and the snow gave an eerie feeling to the gardens and house. As she approached the door she noticed it opening, coming to a halt she had a second to decide what to do and in that second she decided to dive into the nearby shrubbery. The ice and snow stung her cheeks and face and the thorns of the brambles stuck through her coat and trousers. She tried to calm her breathing and listen to the conversation happening right outside the front door. Of course it didn't matter because one look at the two fellas let Corriene know this wasn't some sweet family home where she'd get offered tea and biscuits. She watched the two men get in a car and drive away, as soon as they'd left she scrambled out of the foliage and made her way round the back of the house. Every now and again she'd stop, duck down and check her surroundings. She was probably being watched on cameras but if she was fast and sly enough hopefully they wouldn't be able to keep up. Coming to the back door she pulled one of her tools from her coat pocket, making quick work of the lock she slowly pushed it open. Looking in it looked like she had come through a garage of some kind, tip toeing across the tiles her hand rested on Kirk's phaser in her other pocket. Turning a corner she was faced with two doors, one was metal and looked old and dingy, the other was polished wood with an ornate handle. Jiggling the handle of the metal door she found it locked, her tools made light work of the lock again and she cautiously opened it. The muffled calls from McCoy and Kirk were the first thing she heard, before her they sat, tied to a chair by rope facing away from one another and a rag stuffed in their mouths.

"Jim!" She whispered as she sprinted over and pulled the rag from his mouth.

"Co!" He said breathlessly.

"What the hell Jim?!" She didn't wait for an answer as she pulled the cloth from McCoy's mouth and then began cutting the ropes.

"Damnit Jim! What did I tell ya!" McCoy was visibly furious.

"How was I supposed to know Bones…?" Corriene ignored the argument going on between the two men and continued to free them from their restraints.

"Please Gentleman, you can continue this debate at a later date, right now we need to get the hell out of here!" The pair stopped arguing and helped Corriene loosen the remaining ropes.

"How did you find us?" Kirk couldn't help but ask.

"With all due respect Sir, we don't have time for this. Please, just follow me." Kirk nodded mutely and Corriene set off back through the door, the two men following closely on her heels. As they made their way across the garage they heard the sound of an alarm begin to go off.

"Shit." Corriene looked at Kirk and McCoy who were looking back at her blankly, she could hear shouting outside and knew that if they didn't move soon she'd be seeing those two burly men again which definitely wouldn't be a good idea. Looking around she tried desperately to come with a plan, pulling the phaser from her pocket she handed it to Kirk.

"Are you insane?! You're not seriously planning to shoot your way out are ya?!" McCoy asked incredulously.

"I think we already know they're not the type to want to sit down and chat Bones." Kirk answered.

"Sir?" Corriene interrupted.

"You're a goddamn madman Jim, you know that!" McCoy continued, his hands flailing in the air.

"Bones… please…" Kirk was trying to calm his friend down, already feeling guilty that he'd got him into this whole mess in the first place.

"Captain!" Corriene shouted. "I've got an idea." She added when the pair stopped arguing and looked at her, next to where they were stood is what she presumed sat a large vehicle covered with a tarpaulin. Corriene pulled the heavy material off to reveal the obviously very expensive car.

"Co, what are you doing?" Kirk asked as she tried opening the driver's door.

"We're stealing this car." She answered, pulling a panel off the side to reveal a console.

"We're what?!" McCoy questioned. The two men looked at each other and then back to Co who had managed to get the door to open, sitting behind the driver's wheel she looked at Kirk expectantly.

"Are you going to get in?" She asked, raising her eyebrows! Kirk ran round the car without hesitation.

"Get in the car Bones." He instructed before sitting next to Corriene in the front. When all three were sat in the car Kirk watched silently as Corriene pulled wires and chips from under the wheel, using her tools she'd shoved in her pocket.

"She knows how to hotwire a car?" McCoy asked from the back, Kirk just nodded his head, feeling shocked and impressed in equal measure. When the engine came to life she beamed at Kirk and he gave her a sly wink in return, putting the car into drive she looked towards the garage doors. Corriene creased her brow in alarm when she realised the doors were closed and she had no idea how to open them. As she was about to ask Kirk what to do the external door swung open and Corriene saw the two men rush in.

"Shit!" Corriene said plainly, looking from the men to Kirk to the garage door she returned her gaze back to the man sat next to her. Then she did something completely out of character, she gave Kirk the biggest over the top wink before flooring the accelerator.

Kirk's arms shot out in front of him, bracing himself on the dashboard. The garage doors broke apart and Corriene had to squint against the sun and bright white snow, skidding up the drive she saw in the rear view mirror the two men run after her shouting and waving their arms.

"Yeehaw!" McCoy shouted from the back of the car which made Kirk laugh and Corriene grin widely. The car sped up the hill and away from the house, all the while skidding and sending a plume of snow up into the sky in its wake.

"Are they following us?" Corriene asked, concentrating on driving too much to look back. Kirk looked backwards and shook his head.

"I don't think so."

"We need to get back Captain, Commander Spock and a security team were beaming down." She explained. Kirk watched her as she explained what had happened, the communication from Spock that he and McCoy were missing, tracking them down at the Casino and then making her way to where they had been effectively taken hostage. The car skidded to a stop and Corriene jumped out. She hadn't once asked what had happened, or why it had happened. Kirk knew that that wasn't important to her and that fact alone made him adore her a little bit more.

"Come on Bones." Kirk instructed, jumping out himself. "Co." He tried to get her attention.

"Captain, they're not going to be far behind us, we need to move." Corriene's lips were pressed tightly together as she waved her hand instructing the two men to follow.

"I know, you're right but Co…?" Kirk started again.

"Sir please." There was one thing that he couldn't help thinking about however, he couldn't tell if she was angry at him. The use of his rank instead of his name? She hadn't hugged him when she'd seen him tied up. The sensible part of his brain was telling him to stop being pathetic, she was a professional, an Officer. She was acting as an Officer should, he would do the same. The three of them trudged through the snow towards the town, Corriene looked back at the two men tripping on the road and shivering, having no coats or protective gear on at all. She had to admit it to herself, it did make her feel a little better that they were suffering for their stupidity. She wasn't the least bit interested in their excuses, her Captain and the CMO were missing, she went to find them. Anybody else would have done the same.

Although that wasn't entirely true, when she had woken and realised Kirk wasn't there she had panicked, and she knew right then and there she would do anything necessary to find him. Balancing the mix of emotions that came with dating your Captain was harder than expected. She hadn't thought she'd underestimated the difference it would make to her working life but she also hadn't up to that point been tested and put in a position where she was either going to follow her head or her heart. Pulling the communicator from her pocket she opened a communication to Spock and informed him that Kirk and McCoy were both safe and sound. The security team would be returning to the Enterprise along with Spock and Kirk and McCoy would remain on the planet for the last twelve hours of shore leave given the fact they weren't injured, other than their pride that was.

When they were stood in front of the hotel there were a few choice words shared between the Captain and Doctor before McCoy thanked Corriene and trundled off in search of a bottle of Tennessee Whiskey and a warm bath. Kirk turned to Corriene nervously but said nothing.

"Come on, let's get you out of those wet clothes." She smiled sweetly at him and took his hand, leading the way. Neither spoke on the way to the room and when Corriene opened the door she saw that Kirk was watching her intently. "I'll go run you a bath." She said, "Get those off and wrap a blanket around yourself." Kirk nodded like a child nodding at their Mother when told to eat all their dinner. When Kirk walked into the bathroom and saw the steam rolling from the bathtub he couldn't wait to get his sore, cold limbs into the soothing water.

"Thanks Co." He finally muttered.

"I'll be back in a minute." She touched his arm ever so gently through the blanket as she passed by him. Kirk didn't hesitate to drop the blanket and gently lower himself into the tub, closing his eyes he laughed to himself. Of all the dumb shit he'd done in his life agreeing to a game of high stakes poker with an obvious criminal was pretty high up there. When it had come to pay up, yeah well, that's when they found themselves tied up in the garage! The unmistakable clinking of ice in a glass made him open his eyes, just in time to see Corriene hand him the Bourbon. His eyes travelled from the glass to her glass, being held by delicate fingers and a delicate wrist. His eyes travelled up her bare arm to her bare torso and legs and he watched as she easily climbed in and sat between his legs, her back resting against his chest. Raising her glass she spoke lazily.

"Cheers." Kirk brought his glass to hers.

"Cheers Cookie." He could count on one hand the amount of times he'd been truly lost for words and taken aback by what someone had said or done, this was one of those times. Corriene's unabashed, assured manner kept him watching her captivated, waiting to see what she would do next. There was a silence as they both took a drink, Kirk couldn't help but bring his hand up to Corriene's hair and stroke the curls back and forth. "Did you fall in a bramble brush?" He asked, spotting the small pink pin pricks that covered her legs.

"I did." Corriene answered simply. Amusement obvious in her voice.

Corriene took the glass from his hand and picked up a flannel, as she meticulously cleaned each one of his fingers and forearm Kirk watched on mesmerised. Letting his hand rest on her stomach she started on the other hand, squeezing the warm water from the cloth over his skin before setting that one down as well.

"Is this what it's like?" Kirk asked.

"What is what like?" Kirk's hands were making small circles on her stomach under the water, she watched as they slowly travelled up over her ribs and chest making her go hard. They came up under her arms and pulled her up, twisting her so that she was straddling him, the water sloshing all around them and pouring over the sides.

"Being ridiculously happy?" Kirk answered as his hands continued to roam and come to rest on her hips, pushing her into him. Corriene couldn't help but rock against him as she answered.

"I'd say so, wouldn't you?" She agreed, leaning forward to give him a long deep kiss.

"I'm sorry if I scared you." He apologised between kisses.

"It's okay; just try not to make a habit of it alright?" Both of them were growing impatient, when the final wave of water poured over the side of the bath and onto the tiles they both laughed and helped one another out. Neither bothered with a towel, their bodies crashing into one another and somehow making their way to the bedroom and falling between the pillows.

* * *

Corriene blew her fringe from her forehead, the sheets felt glorious against her skin as she slowly moved her legs up and down, enjoying the sensation far too much. Sunlight was pouring between the curtains and wall signifying that it was morning. Burying her head in the pillow she tried to ignore the fact that she knew her alarm was about to go off any second. Peering through her messy hair she watched Kirk sleep peacefully, his chest rising and falling evenly.

"Jim." She whispered. "Jim." Scooting herself over she put her head on his pillow, "James?" She let her arm fall over his chest. "Jim we have to get up." She whispered again. Tucking her head into the crook of his neck she placed small kisses against his neck and whispered his name into his ear. She let her hands roam over him uninhibited, throwing her thigh over his.

In a blink of an eye and before Corriene realised what had happened Kirk had tossed her onto her back and straddled her legs.

"Good morning! You were enjoying yourself there weren't you?" He asked mischievously, Corriene now blushed, knowing that he'd been awake the whole time.

"It's better than getting cold water poured over you isn't it?" She shrugged her shoulders and pushed her hair back away from her face. With her eyebrows raised and her lips pursed Kirk stared at her wordlessly.

"What?" She asked.

"You're beautiful you know that?" He stated.

"Dick." Corriene laughed nervously, Kirk leant forward and brushed her hair away from her forehead, when it sprang straight back he chuckled and rolled his eyes. "I love that I can pretty much tell what you're thinking at any time by just looking at your face."

"It's not always a good thing! There's been times in my life I had wished people couldn't tell what I was thinking."

"Not with me though right?!"

"Of course not!" Her face said otherwise but Kirk knew that had been her intention, letting his head rest on her chest he closed his eyes feeling safe and at ease. "We need to get up." She repeated her initial comment.

"In a minute." Kirk's voice was muffled as he turned into her and started placing small kisses along her collarbone.

"Did you enjoy your shore leave?" Corriene asked breathlessly, her eyes closing in response to his touch.

"Apart from the kidnapping it was great, you?" His mouth was still on her neck but with the addition of his hand between her legs Corriene could no longer think straight.

"It was pretty… great." Her voice broke as seemingly Kirk had found the right point and arching her back, she called out uncontrollably.

"I could get used to hearing you make that sound."

"I could get use to making it." Corriene answered lazily.

"We need to get up." Kirk stated regretfully.

"In a minute." Corriene stretched out like a cat in the sun and then with a dark smile and quick wink pulled herself under the covers and down the bed. As Kirk closed his eyes in anticipation his comm badge began to chirp.

"You have got to be kidding?!" He shouted, punching the bed with his fists. The sound of laughter came from under the covers, pulling the sheet away he looked at Corriene who was trying grinning wildly.

"Saved by the bell." She remarked nonchalantly, Kirk grabbed the device and opened the communication.

"Jim, where the hell are you? I'm waiting in reception!" McCoy's angry voice radiated around the room.

"I… overslept… I'll be down in a minute." Kirk fumbled over his words.

"Well be quick about it Jim!"

"Oh don't worry, it shouldn't take long." Corriene pulled a disgusted face at his remark and he gave her a wink in return.

"What every woman wants to hear!" She whispered, before slipping back under the cover.

"Bye Bones." Kirk cut the communication and threw the badge off the bed. "You were saying?" The room filled with laughter.

* * *

 ** _Hope you're still enjoying this, please let me know what you think. XOXO LLAP ;-)_**


	13. Chapter 13

Kirk was focussed on the screen in front of him whilst listening to the orders and updates being shouted out from the stations that surrounded him. He trusted his crew explicitly, they were the best of the best so when it came to situations like these he knew that they had the best chance to be victorious. Kirk watched as the two small ships that had inflicted a surprising amount of damage to the Enterprise moments earlier retreated.

"Mister Spock, report." He ordered stalwartly from the Captain's chair.

"Hull breach on deck eighteen Captain, shields holding at eighty seven percent. Sick Bay reporting minimal casualties." Spock answered.

"Thank you Mister Spock, Lieutenant Uhura, send a sub space message to Starfleet informing them of our new acquaintances."

"Yes Captain." Uhura answered.

"Lieutenant Sulu, keep an eye on those two ships, I want to know where they're going in such a hurry."

"Aye Captain." Sulu replied.

"Kirk to Commander Scott." Kirk opened a comm to Engineering.

"Aye Captain, Scotty here." The Aberdonian replied.

"What's it looking like down there Scotty?"

"Engines running at sixty five percent Captain." Scotty's replied cautiously.

"When can I go to warp Commander?" Kirk listened as there was some rustling and he could hear someone else talking in the background. "Scotty?" He asked impatiently.

"Aye Captain, way da now… Lees?!" Kirk smirked at what he was hearing. "Ya canny be serious Lassie!"

"Scotty?" Kirk repeated.

"Two hours Captain." He finally answered.

"Thank you Commander." Kirk closed the communication and smiled, he could imagine the pair of them arguing. Since Corriene's promotion she had become Scotty's right hand woman, the pair would fight like cat and dog but Engineering had never been better.

* * *

"Cookie?" Kirk called out her name as he entered her quarters later that day, there was no answer. "Co?" Looking around the room he saw that her boots were on the floor near the sofa. He was growing concerned, it wasn't like her not be sat there reading a book or writing a paper when he walked in. Briskly walking to the bedroom he relaxed when he heard the shower on, of course she was in the shower. He'd learnt pretty early on that it was one of her favourite pastimes. It had become one of his after they had shared the small cubicle one morning a couple of months earlier!

"Co! It's me." Pulling his own boots off he unzipped his shirt and pulled it over his head. He started to talk about his day, what had happened on the Bridge and how much Spock had annoyed him with his infuriating logic. When he had nothing more to say he popped his head round the partition and his heart sunk into his stomach. On the floor of the shower sat a very cold and wet Corriene, her eyes visibly red raw with tears. "Jesus Co, what is it?!" Kirk turned the water off above her and grabbed a towel, kneeling down beside her he wrapped the towel around her shoulders and began rubbing her arms gently. "Speak to me Co, what is it?" He was worried out of his mind, he'd only seen her that upset once before. That was when he realised what it must have been. "It's Lucignano isn't it? What's happened?" Corriene looked up at him but lost all control, bursting out crying again and throwing her arms round his neck.

"When I read it I was okay, I really was okay and then I was having a shower and I don't know? I just froze. I'm sorry I don't know why but I just froze? Really I'm okay…" She was shaking her head and her face was creased up in anguish, Kirk was just listening to her rambling, cooing her quietly as she spoke.

"Shh it's okay, it's okay. You don't need to apologise, just calm down, deep breaths." Kirk spoke calmly but inside his heart was beating out of his chest.

"Rehabilitation, the Alpha penal colony in New Zealand and then community service." She managed to croak out between bursts of tears and ragged breaths. Kirk let out the breath he had been holding.

"Oh Co, that's great news. That's just great. When did you find out?" He replied relieved beyond measure.

"This morning." She answered reluctantly, knowing he'd be annoyed she hadn't told him earlier.

"You should have come get me." He said as he continued to rub the towel up and down her arms and shoulders.

"Jim, you were on shift, I'm never going to be that person who behaves inappropriately while on duty." She said it so seriously, with her eyebrows creased so hard Kirk had to stop himself from laughing.

"I wouldn't say it was inappropriate…" Kirk started.

"Is this really the important aspect you want to be discussing?" Corriene smiled tight lipped at him.

"No, no of course not. I'm sorry, tell me." The pair sat on the floor of the shower facing one another.

"They found him guilty of attempted murder, no chance for appeal." She pulled away slightly but Kirk took the opportunity to kiss her, pulling her back in so that she was resting in his lap and against his chest.

"Great, great news." Kirk smiled, his own eyes filling with tears.

"It's over Jim, it's over." She smiled brightly, tucking herself in closer to him.

"You don't ever have to think about it again Co." He said, stroking her back up and down.

"I know, it doesn't feel real?"

"It is real, he will never be able to hurt you again, nobody will. Not while I'm around." Corriene laughed in relief more than anything. Pulling back from him she put her hand on his cheek, rubbing her thumb lovingly.

"Thank you Jim, I love you, you know?"

"I love you too."

* * *

 **Eight Months Later**

"Lassie! That's no wee scratch you got there! Get yaself to Medical will ya?!" Scotty huffed at Corriene, who was holding her head with her right hand, blood seeping through her fingers.

"I'm fine Mister Scott, let's get those engines going." She replied, giving him a huge grin and arching her eyebrows comically.

"Ech! Crazy woman…" Scotty muttered to himself as he went about his business. Corriene carried on working for the next several hours, testing, running diagnostics, tweaking. The team rallied around her, which she was eternally grateful for given the fact she had the worst headache she had ever experienced.

"Evans! How we doing with the Dilithium Crystal converter in section three?" She asked, leaning against the railing. Evans looked up from his work and shook his head, even he could tell she was in pain.

"What is wrong with you?" He asked, coming to stand in front of her.

"What do you mean?" She asked, creasing her brow in confusion but instantly regretting it, the pain from her head radiating out even more.

"You can't just be normal like everybody else, you know when somebody hurts themselves they usually go see a Doctor…"

"We need to get the engine up and running Evans, don't start lecturing me. Now, section three. How we doing?" She looked at him pointedly, making it clear that was the end of the conversation.

"Operational in thirty minutes." He answered.

"You've got fifteen." She said and then walked away, Evans watched after her.

"Why did you ask in the first place if you were just going to tell me how long I've got?!" He shouted after her. Corriene didn't respond and when, after fifteen minutes she received the thumbs up from Evans gave him a friendly wink.

"Mister Scott, engines are now operational." She advised, trying not to sway as she stood in front of him.

"Aye Lass, grand job." Scotty grinned, "Scott to Captain Kirk." He instructed, opening a comm up to the Bridge.

"How we doing Scotty?" Corriene listened to Kirk' voice, visualising him sat on the Bridge, legs crossed and arms resting comfortably either side of him.

"Aye Captain, engines are up and running." Scotty confirmed.

"Good job Mister Scott." Kirk answered, ending the comm. Scotty stood looking at Corriene.

"Will you now to go Sick Bay, because Lassie, I'd rather not have the Captain throw me in the brig?"

"Alright alright, I'm going." Corriene smiled warmly at the Scotsman, squeezing his arm affectionately as she walked passed him.

She managed to get herself from main Engineering to the Med Bay without passing out or throwing up although she did have to stop and bend over at one point, breathing heavily and dry heaving for a good five minutes. Walking into the Med Bay Corriene spotted Chapel, she now thoroughly felt sick as a dog.

"Christine?" Corriene whispered behind her, when Chapel turned her eyes went wide at the sight of Corriene and her bloody forehead.

"What the hell Corriene?!" Christine swore, which was out of character for the Head Nurse.

"I bumped my head."

"You think?!" Christine guided her towards a bed and instructed her to lie down. Christine gently went about healing the cut to her scalp, having to gently push away her mousey curls. "Has the Captain seen you like this?" Christine asked.

"No! And don't tell him, do you think he'll be able to tell?" Christine looked down at her, dried blood on her forehead and in her hair, which was even more chaotic than usual.

"No Honey." Christine patted her arm reassuringly.

* * *

When Kirk saw Corriene walk into his quarters that evening he immediately spotted the dried blood on her head and in her hair. When she said her hello and proceeded to act as if there was nothing wrong he sat back and crossed his arms.

"Do you fancy a drink?" She asked, trying to keep her face as calm as possible. Pretending to Kirk was one of the hardest things to do.

"Please." He answered. "So, how was your day?" Corriene nodded enthusiastically.

"Great…! Great…! Yours?" She asked, pouring two drinks.

"Apart from losing my engines it was good… Co?" He stood and walked over to her.

"Yes?" Now she wasn't even looking at him, knowing as soon as she did she would feel guilty and he would be able to tell something was wrong. It infuriated her sometimes how easy he could read her every thought and emotion.

"Did… anything happen today?" He was smirking.

"Happen?" Corriene took a large gulp from her glass, keeping it up against her lips she didn't dare move it.

"Cookie?"

"Yes Jim?" She coughed out.

"What happened to your head?"

"My head?"

"Cookie." She knew she had been busted, turning to him she thought perhaps if she gave him a kiss it would distract him from his train of thought however when she set herself back down from her tip toes she could tell he wasn't buying it. It was time to fess up.

"Oh this, it's nothing. I banged it." She smiled flippantly.

"Umhum, come and sit down will you. You're crazy you know that?!" The pair sat down and Kirk proceeded to run his fingers over the light pinkish scar that was rapidly disappearing. "You know this reminds me of one of the first times we ever met, when you appeared from under the phaser banks with a cut on your head."

"Warp core, I was under the warp core." Kirk laughed.

"Of course you were!"

"You scared the hell out of me back then."

"I did?" Kirk was surprised.

"Yeah, are you kidding me! You ripped me a new one and threatened to throw me off your ship!" Corriene settled her head on Kirk's shoulder, their hands intertwined in his lap.

"I always thought you didn't give a damn?" Kirk watched as their hands twisted around one another.

"I said you scared me, I didn't say I cared…" Kirk pretended to get angry.

"Why you little…" Tickling her sides the pair laughed and fought against one another.

"Stop! Jim please, I can't stand being tickled!" Corriene managed to sputter between hysterics.

"Say the magic word!"

"What?"

"Say the magic word!" Kirk repeated having fully overpowered Corriene and was now straddling her and ticking her incessantly.

"Okay okay I'll say it!" Corriene held her hands up in surrender and Kirk paused, looking down at her mischievously.

"Well, I'm waiting?" He theatrically prepared to start the tickling again, Corriene straightened her face and looked at him seriously.

"NEVER!" She shouted and then proceeded to try and fail to wriggle free.

* * *

"What happened?" Kirk was walking so fast Scotty had to jog to catch up.

"There was an explosion, the Lass wouldn't leave until everybody had been evacuated." Scotty responded desolately, Kirk didn't reply but continued to march through the corridors. Entering the sickbay Kirk searched for McCoy.

"Nurse Chapel! Where's Doctor McCoy?" He shouted, startling the Nurse. Chapel skipped over hurriedly, a grave look appearing on her face.

"Captain?"

"Doctor McCoy Nurse, where is he?" His hands were clenched into tight fists as he spoke.

"He's in surgery Sir…"

"With Lieutenant Lees?" He interrupted.

"Yes Sir."

"How long?"

"Sir?"

"How long have they been in there?" His eyes were flitting from one thing to the other in the room as if he was searching for her face.

"Six hours Sir." Kirk turned to Scotty angrily.

"You should have commed me." He all but spat at Scotty.

"Aye Captain, I'm sorry, it was just…"

"You. Should. Have. Commed. Me. Mister Scott." Kirk repeated, losing his resolve. Scotty could only nod in response.

"Jim?" Looking round Kirk saw McCoy begin to walk towards him.

"Bones!" The two men came to stand in front of one another, everybody else standing back. They were both silent, neither one trusting themselves to speak. "Tell me Bones." Kirk whispered.

"It's not looking good Jim, you should prepare yourself…" Kirk stared at his friends face.

"What?"

"She sustained massive injuries." Kirk didn't respond, staring off past McCoy. "Jim?"

"Yeah?" Kirk snapped out of his nightmare.

"I'm sorry Jim, I'm doing everything I can." McCoy didn't know what else to say, Kirk just nodded mutely.

And then with an almighty roar Kirk threw himself at the table, flinging it into the air. Equipment flew everywhere and he didn't stop until McCoy grabbed his arms and pulled him into a bear hug.

"Jim, that's enough." McCoy warned.

"Stupid! Stupid Woman!" Kirk muttered angrily.

"She saved their lives Jim."

"I don't give a shit! She didn't have to be the hero! Stupid…stupid…" Tears fell from his face as he spoke. Chapel clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle the sobbing sound rising from her gut. The room was quiet apart from the quiet sniffs coming from Kirk.

"Come on Jim, let's get you out of here." McCoy took hold of his arm but Kirk shrugged him off.

"I want to see her."

"I don't think that would be a good idea…"

"I want to see her Bones." Kirk stated firmly.

"Later, not now." McCoy guided him towards his office slowly, sitting him down and pouring him a drink the two men sat in silence.

"I love her Bones." Kirk muttered, wiping his nose with the back of his hand.

"I know." Looking up at his friend Kirk shook his head.

"What am I supposed to do if…?" He asked desperately.

"I don't know?" McCoy said, there was nothing else left to say, McCoy left the office leaving Kirk alone. He wasn't allowed to see her that evening, McCoy rushing her back into surgery shortly after he'd left Kirk alone. As Kirk was walking back to his quarters her face came to mind, with all its ridiculous expressions. He choked on a sad laugh, realising he may never see that messy hair or inconceivably beautiful face again. He knew then and there he would never be the same again if he lost her but he was okay with that, because he didn't want the person she loved to exist without her.

* * *

 ** _Thanks for the follows and favourites, especially the reviews! Glad you're enjoying it! XOXO LLAP ;-)_**


	14. Chapter 14

Kirk was dreaming, he knew he was dreaming because he was stood with Corriene, she was smiling at him warmly. The breeze whipped her hair around in circles and the long blue scarf she was wearing blew behind her. He watched as the scarf unwrapped itself from her neck and flew into the sky, he watched as Corriene laughed and ran after it, all the while he was shouting her name, begging her to come back to him. But no matter how loud he shouted, she didn't return.

When he shot up in bed, for a second he didn't know where he was. He was dripping in sweat and there were tears on his cheeks. Making his way to the bathroom he turned on the light over the mirror, splashing his face with water he contemplated going back to bed but ten minutes later he was dressed and on his way to the Med Bay.

* * *

"How is she Captain?" Uhura asked Kirk later that day.

"She's stable." Kirk answered bluntly but then added, "Thank you for asking Uhura." Sitting in the Captain's chair his mind wandered, he couldn't concentrate, couldn't sleep. He knew he was very close to having to relieve himself of his position and duty. He was becoming a liability.

"Captain, we're in range of the Class M planet." Spock advised.

"On screen." Kirk looked at the planet, it looked just like earth with blue oceans and cloudy skies. It made him miss home all of a sudden, swallowing the lump in his throat he refocussed. "Prepare a shuttle Mister Spock." He ordered, standing from his chair.

"Captain?" Spock arched his eyebrow questioningly.

"I need some fresh air." Was all Kirk offered up before leaving the bridge.

* * *

Spock watched as Kirk haphazardly hopped from one rock to another, he was becoming increasingly concerned by the Captain's behaviour. He was being erratic and dangerous, taking unnecessary risks.

"Captain, I suggest we find a more suitable route." He shouted over, Kirk turned and wobbled on a loose stone before regaining his footing.

"Nonsense Mister Spock! Where's your sense of adventure? A little danger makes you feel alive!" Kirk shouted back before turning and continuing on his way. Spock shared a look with Uhura who was looking very concerned.

"We should go back to the ship." She whispered.

"Agreed." Spock nodded gravely.

As they continued on their way and after several more hours Spock observed that Kirk had become more and more erratic, coming to a clearing he approached his Captain.

"Captain, are you feeling alright?" He asked carefully.

"Me Spock, I'm fine. Why? Is the atmosphere not agreeing with you?" Kirk slapped him on the back, a little too hard.

"I am fine Captain, but I believe you are suffering from some form of psychosis."

"Spock!" Uhura couldn't help but shout, shocked by the Vulcan's bluntness. Kirk simply laughed.

"No, it's alright Uhura. Spock, I can assure you, I'm fine. Really." Kirk smiled at them both but Uhura could see it didn't reach his eyes. It was apparent to everybody that the man was in pain.

"I suggest we go back to the ship Captain." Spock said.

"No!" Kirk shouted, the anger rising.

"Sir…please, I think it would be for the best." Uhura tried to reason with him.

"We are not going back! That's an order!" Kirk shouted, staring at the two Officers.

"Yes Captain." Spock answered instinctively.

"Of course Captain." Uhura replied, making her way closer to Kirk she held out a calming hand, letting him know she meant him no harm. "Sir, why don't we take a break? I know you're dealing with a lot at the moment…"

"What you trying to say Lieutenant?!" Kirk spat back.

"Corriene wouldn't want you to endanger yourself…" Uhura began but the look of absolute venom on Kirk's face scared her and taking a step back, frantically looked at Spock who was already approaching the pair. Kirk seemed to realise that he'd gone too far, rubbing his face with his hands his shoulders slumped and he heaved a ragged sigh.

"I'm sorry Lieutenant." Kirk whispered wearily.

"It's alright Captain, you don't need to apologise." Uhura said comfortingly.

"Yes I do, I'm out of line, I'm sorry." Uhura nodded, accepting the apology. "Come on, let's get going before it starts going dark." Kirk gave them both a half-hearted smile and then carried on walking. Uhura and Spock looked at each nervously for the umpteen time that day and then set off following him.

* * *

The darkness fell quicker than any of them anticipated, slowly making their way on the narrow path Uhura's fingers hurt with how hard she was clenching on to the cliff edge.

"Captain, I must insist we return to the ship." Spock urged.

"We're nearly there Spock, come on!" Kirk laughed dismissively.

"Captain, you leave me no option but to relieve you of your command." Uhura looked between the two men pensively thinking to herself that the Vulcan could have picked a better moment, or location for that matter..

"You committing mutiny Spock?" Kirk asked in disbelief.

"Negative Captain, regulations dictate that a First Officer can remove a Commanding Officer who is endangering his or her command without good reason, or has become physically or mentally…"

"You think I'm endangering my life Spock?!" Kirk asked.

"And that of Lieutenant Uhura and myself Captain." Spock replied flatly.

"You can't be serious?!" Kirk took a step towards Spock, Uhura heard the rubble of the stone path fall down the ravine.

"Captain, you know Commander Spock only has your best interest at heart, please, you're upset. It's understandable, anybody in your position would be the same…" Uhura placed her hand comfortingly on Kirk's arm, hoping she would get through to him. Kirk was about to argue but as he opened his mouth the weight of everything set itself on his shoulders, he suddenly felt like he was wading through quicksand. He knew Spock and Uhura were right, he'd been on self-destruct since Corriene had been hurt. Closing his eyes he inhaled a huge breath letting it burn his lungs before he exhaled.

"You're right, you're right I'm sorry." He puffed out.

"Don't apologise Sir, we care for you. Let's get back." Uhura carefully stood away from the edge, her back against the cliff face so that Kirk could step around her. As Kirk past her his exhaustion took over, his foot caught on a branch and he immediately knew he had lost his footing. His hands flailed out, his fingertips just touching Uhura's whose eyes were wide in horror as she watched Kirk fall back and over the side of the ravine.

"CAPTAIN!"

* * *

McCoy watched Corriene's readings carefully, any spike and he'd have to put her back in an induced coma. The machine and tubes that were helping her breathe beeped and buzzed but McCoy kept his eyes fixated on her heart rate.

"Come on Lees, keep it steady." He muttered to himself, his eyes flickered to hers looking for any kind of movement. There was none. He upped the dosage, if this didn't work it meant she wasn't going to wake up, ever.

"Doctor?" Chapel dared to mutter.

"Just wait." McCoy instructed tersely, a spike and beep in the readings caught his attention, walking round the bed he looked down at her. He watched as her eyes flickered, "That's it Lees, come on girl you can do it." All of a sudden there was a flurry of activity, McCoy was administering hyposprays like they were going out of fashion and Chapel was checking the readings on the plethora of machines that surrounded Corriene.

McCoy watched as Corriene's eyes slowly blinked open, squinting against the bright light.

"It's alright, you're alright." He comforted. "Corriene you have a tube down your throat to help you breathe." He spoke slowly and clearly but he still had to grab at her hands when they instinctively went up to try and pull the tube from her throat. "Hey now, less of that. You're okay, it's helping you breathe. Just stay calm okay?"

Corriene was anything but calm, she was scared out of her mind and had no clue what was going on. She felt a dull ache all over her body and her throat was on fire. The most frustrating thing was every time she tried to lift her hands up somebody would push them back down. All she could see was white, she didn't know if she had lost her eyesight? Turning her head slightly she could see Chapel, the woman was busily hurrying around looking very serious.

"Corriene? Corriene? Can you hear me?" She closed her eyes and creased her brow in response, whoever it was, they were shouting in her ear. Turning to look she saw McCoy looming over her, she tried to speak.

"Don't try to speak, there's a tube in your throat helping you breathe." She didn't know why she needed help breathing, "Listen, I need to run a few more tests, do you understand?" He was looking at he like she was a child and she was getting increasingly annoyed. Nodding her head lightly she desperately wanted to ask him to turn the lights down, instead she squinted against the brightness. "What is it? Are you in pain? I'll give you something for the pain…" With that he left and she couldn't see him anymore, she felt more alone then she ever had done in her entire life.

For the twenty minutes or so she just listened to the people around her discuss her condition, what treatment she had received and what now needed to happen. She didn't know how she had ended up there, wracking her brain the last thing she could remember was getting up for her shift and helping Scotty replace the Dilithium crystals. She started wondering where Kirk was, surely McCoy would have told him she was awake and he'd want to see her? She was growing increasingly anxious and she felt the tears begin to slide down the sides of her face.

"Hey now, hey… you're alright Corriene, don't cry. Everything's going to be alright." Chapel cooed and stroked her hair, Corriene closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. "Doctor McCoy wants to try and take the breathing tube out of your throat, do you understand Corriene?" Corriene looked at Chapel wide eyed but nodded her head. "Okay good, I just need you to calm down for me, I'm going to give you something to help." Chapel squeezed her arm reassuringly and then disappeared. The room went quiet and Corriene couldn't see anybody around. She desperately wanted to know where Kirk was, it just didn't feel right that he wasn't there. She knew he could have been busy, on the Bridge or something else equally important but it just didn't seem right. It wasn't like him.

"Right Ms Lees, shall we get that thing out of you?" McCoy looked at her sternly but it was strangely calming to Corriene, his out and out professionalism making her feel safe. "Right Corriene, I'm going to use this tube here to put down the breathing tube, this will help you breathe after the extubation. Doctor McCoy is then going to take down the breathing tube's cuff, it's a bit like an air balloon in your trachea and then he can remove the tube. Do you understand so far?" Chapel watched as Corriene nodded in understanding.

"It's going to feel uncomfortable and I'll want you to cough while I take out the tube okay? The whole procedure is quick and only takes a couple of minutes." McCoy explained. "Nurse Chapel, can you make sure the oxygen mask is ready?"

"Yes Doctor." Chapel pulled the mask from the wall and then smiled down at Corriene. Corriene squeezed her eyes shut as McCoy suctioned the tube, it wasn't painful and the whole experience wasn't at all pleasant. After a couple of minutes of fiddling with various apparatus McCoy told Corriene to cough. As the tube was pulled from her throat Corriene's eyes stung with tears.

"Great job Lieutenant, perfect." McCoy encouraged nodding to Chapel to place the oxygen mask over Corriene's nose and mouth.

"Your throats going to be very sore Corriene, try to not to talk for while alright." Chapel squeezed her shoulder supportively, Corriene watched as the Doctor and Nurse spoke in hushed tones, exchanging glances at the machines that surrounded her and the PADD's in their hands. Corriene opened her mouth to speak but no sound came, she tried again. Putting her tongue to the roof of her mouth she tried to project the letter 'D', nothing came. Her hands fluttered to the mask, she could feel herself getting work up.

"It's alright Corriene, it's helping to get those lungs of yours working." Chapel was by her side and pushing her hands back down again, rolling her eyes in annoyance Corriene tried to speak, this time a gravelly noise came from her throat. "What is it?" Chapel asked, bring her ear closer to Corriene's mouth.

"Jim." Her voice was nothing more than a horse whisper but Chapel knew what she had said.

"Let me go find out." Smiling sweetly she walked away and stood next to McCoy. "Doctor, she's asked for the Captain." She said hesitantly.

"Damnit I forgot…" McCoy looked genuinely annoyed.

"I'll comm the Bridge." Chapel suggested, giving him a sympathetic smile and going to a panel on the wall. "Nurse Chapel to the Bridge."

"Bridge here." Lieutenant Chang's voice replied.

"Can you ask the Captain to come to the main Sick Bay please?"

There was a pause.

"The Captain is currently planet side." Chapel creased her brow in confusion.

"Oh, alright. Please inform him as soon as he returns."

"Will do." Walking back to McCoy Chapel told him the whereabouts of Kirk.

"Thank you Nurse, but let's get a message to him straightaway, I don't think he'll want to wait…"

"Lieutenant Uhura to Doctor McCoy! Medical Emergency! The Captain's being beamed directly to Sick Bay, he'd badly hurt!" McCoy and Chapel shared a look of absolute astonishment. Chapel whipped round to stare at Corriene.

"Doctor?" McCoy knew what she was asking.

"Don't say a word Nurse, she's not stable yet and I'm damn well not losing her again!" As he finished speaking his attention was averted by the tell-tale swirling of lights and the sound of ringing bells. The pair leapt into action, running towards the bed as Kirk appeared.

"Good God man!" Kirk was battered and bruised and writhing in agony. "What the hell happened?" McCoy asked aghast.

"I fell." Kirk gave his friend a wonky smile, Uhura and Spock ran into the Med Bay and approached Kirk's bed.

"He fell down a ravine." Uhura clarified.

"Of course you did Jim." McCoy shook his head in despair, "Nurse, give him something for the pain, not that he deserves it." Kirk's eyes were rolling into the back of his head. "Jim?" McCoy was shaking his shoulder, "Jim?" Kirk's body went lifeless. "Damnit Jim!"

* * *

Corriene heard the commotion but was too tired to even bother to look at what was causing all the fuss. The gravity of her situation and the fact that she couldn't remember what had happened to her was beginning to scare her, she kept closing her eyes and counting to ten, concentrating on her breathing. Anything to avoid thinking about the current situation she found herself in. Not seeing Kirk when she had woken up had broken her heart, however much she had tried to be pragmatic. It was her who had said that neither of them should ever act unprofessionally due to their relationship, now she was getting upset because the Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise hadn't run from the Bridge to be by his Girlfriend's side?!

Feeling the heaviness of sleep take over the sound of Doctor McCoy shouting Jim Kirk's name never reached Corriene's ears.

* * *

 _ **Thank you for reading, hope you're still enjoying this and there's only one more chapter to go! XOXO ;-) LLAP**_


	15. Chapter 15

Kirk slowly opened his eyes, for a moment he didn't know where he was. He thought for a second he was in somebody else's bed, perhaps a one night stand? Then reality hit him like a freight train and he remembered that A, he was on the Enterprise and B, he had a Girlfriend. He quickly glossed over the fact that he had remembered those things in that order; he really was a dick sometimes.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Kirk turned his head to see Corriene sat by his bedside, in her pale hospital gown and messy hair she looked small and frail but he couldn't think of anything more beautiful to wake up to. Kirk blinked in confusion, counting two plus two and getting five. Corriene smiled at him, waiting for the pieces to fall into place.

"Co?" He whispered, still not really knowing what the hell was going on.

"Yes?" She answered patiently.

"You're alive?" Kirk blinked slowly, trying to pull himself up Corriene stood gingerly and gently pushed him back down, stroking the stray hairs away and off his forehead.

"Apparently so." She gave him a wide-eyed comical look and he couldn't help but laugh.

"God I've missed your face." Corriene became serious all of a sudden and bending over him, gave him a long loving kiss.

"What did you do Jim?" She asked, concern lacing her voice.

"I lost it Co, I thought I'd lost you and I just… lost it." He admitted guiltily.

"You're an idiot." She shook her head but continued to plant small kisses on his forehead and cheeks.

"You are!" He answered childishly.

"Real mature."

"How could you risk your life like that?!"

"Those people wouldn't have got out had I not overridden the mainframe Jim!" She answered, her hands on her hips.

"I don't care!" Kirk shouted, his voice rising. Corriene realised they were both getting upset, their emotions bubbling to the service. She put her finger to his lips and gave him a pleading look.

"I could ask you the same question? How did you think going down to a planet and throwing yourself down a ravine would help matters?"

"I didn't throw myself down a ravine Co!" Kirk rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Jim, Commander Spock nearly relieved you of duty! Christ! If I'm the reason you nearly lost your Captaincy…?" Corriene felt herself losing control, her throat was still sore and her voice was already horse.

"I love you Co, I thought I'd lost you! You're the first real thing in my life I've cared about and I just couldn't stand the idea of losing you." The tears began to fall down Corriene's cheeks, standing from the chair she crawled up onto his bed. Kirk's arms wrapped around her and she closed her eyes instinctively.

"You didn't think that maybe I could have lost you?" Corriene whispered, her throat hurting too much to do anything else.

"I didn't think, full stop." Kirk admitted. "Did you not think of me? Did you not think what it would do to me if you died? Or am I not important?" Kirk was being frankly honest, he was only repeating the questions that had gone round and round in his head since the moment he'd heard what she'd done.

"Of course I thought of you, you were the first and last thing I thought about. But Jim, you know who I am and you knew that getting into this. You yourself told me to never lose that part of me, quite frankly Jim, it's kind of your fault." She was being deadly serious but her last comment showed him she still hadn't lost her sense of humour and she was telling him neither should he.

"Touché Cookie." He mumbled in quiet agreement.

"You can't do that again." She said, coming back to her previous point about him losing control.

"I know."

"You weren't here when I woke up." Those words broke Kirk's heart.

"I know, I'm sorry."

"I stood by your bed in this goddamn Med Bay for nine hours while Doctor McCoy pulled that spear out of your chest and restarted your heart three times!"

"I know Co."

"You have a job to do, so do I."

"I know."

"Do you?"

"Yes! Co please, enough." He watched the back of her head and let his fingers intertwine with hers. "Don't leave Co." He whispered.

"What?" She said after a pause.

"Don't think that you leaving this ship is a good idea, that you'd be keeping me safe and this is all too much." There was another pause and he could tell she was mulling over his words.

"How did you know I was thinking that?" She finally said.

"Because I do know you and I'm asking you not to be the hero this time. You don't need to leave to save me Co, you need to stay." Corriene twisted round to look at him, their foreheads resting together. Smiling she kissed the tip of his nose.

"As long as you promise not to throw all this away if anything happens?"

"I wouldn't want to have worked for you in the private sector, you're a task master aren't you?!" Kirk teased.

"Mister Kirk, you're presuming I would have given you a job in the first place and of course, I got the job done and don't you forget it." Corriene put on her best serious face which made Kirk laugh.

"Yes Ma'am." Corriene started to get off the bed but Kirk's arm round her middle stopped her.

"Jim, come on, I've got to go back to bed and you have to rest. Doctor McCoy will flip if he sees that I've got up." She gave him a pleading look.

"Just one more minute…?"

"There you go again not doing what you're told." As she walked away Kirk stared after her.

"Co! You know those hospital gowns are backless right?" Corriene gave her backside a wiggle in response.

* * *

 **Seven Months Later**

"Where's your hat?" Kirk asked as the pair walked towards the outskirts of the city.

"I forgot it." Corriene answered quickly.

"Co!"

"Jim!" She mimicked.

"I'm going to have to make sure we only visit ice planets from now on." Kirk commented absentmindedly.

"Oh and that went so well last time." She gave him a sarcastic thumbs up. "Go do your thing, I'll see you later." She blew him a kiss and started off in another direction, leaving Kirk stood smirking.

"I don't see what there is to be smiling about Jim, the place is one big dust bowl." Kirk looked to McCoy who was sporting his typical sour look.

"Oh I don't know Bones, it has a sort of Wild West charm to it don't you think?"

"I do not think! Damned hell hole if you ask me." With a dismissive wave of his hand McCoy sulked off.

"Captain Kirk?" He turned to see that he'd been accompanied by a woman, one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen.

"Yes?" He gulped.

"My name is El'ra." Her voice was like honey, Kirk had to stop himself from staring. Her hair was mercury-red and tumbled over her shoulders, blossom soft lips sat under a petite nose and shrewd chocolate eyes. She knew she was beautiful Kirk thought to himself, she knew the effect she had over men and women. He'd have to watch himself with this one.

"Nice to meet you El'ra." He extended his hand formally but when she chose to ignore it and kiss him on the lips he took a step back and smiled politely.

"You don't greet one another like that Captain?" She asked all innocence and light. Oh boy was he going to have to watch himself with this one!

"That 'greeting' is a little more intimate where I come from." Kirk replied, she seemed to consider his words for a moment and then smiled.

"My apologies Captain, shall we meet the rest of the assembly?" Extending a lithe arm Kirk nodded and followed.

* * *

Corriene was shattered; she was shattered, filthy and hot. Wiping the back of her hand over her forehead she smeared the engine oil that was all over her hands onto her face, she grimaced at the feel of her hair plastered to the back of her neck with sweat. It wasn't long enough to pull up into a ponytail or bun so when she pulled it all from her neck it just stuck out more in its characteristically chaotic way. She'd also burnt her nose, Jim was going to give her a right earful.

"Good work today Evans." She commented as her friend sidled up beside her.

"Thanks Boss." He answered glibly. "Where you going now?"

"I'm meeting Jim." She answered, throwing the last of her tools into her bag.

"How's that working for you?" Evans asked, crossing his arms.

"How is what working for me?" She asked as she stretched her back and watched Evans pack his own stuff away.

"Dating the Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise?" Corriene rolled her eyes.

"Well for one thing I don't call him that when we're sat eating dinner or having sex, if that helps."

"Ha ha." Evans deadpanned. "Seriously Lees, you two seem to be doing well considering you've nearly died twice, I would have dumped you by now!"

"Good job we're not together then isn't it!" Corriene countered, "What does Emily even see in you Evans?!"

"Good looks, charm…"

"Send me a postcode from fantasy island will ya?!" Picking up her tools she said goodbye to Evans and made her way to the public building Kirk was holding his talks in. The building was one large piece of glass and as she walked towards the main entrance she caught sight of her reflection and frowned, with a shrug of her shoulders though she pulled at her tunic and pushed at the glass door leaving an oily hand print.

When she walked through the doors the clean cool air made her instantly feel better, the large trees planted in the foyer gave off a floral aroma and the sound of the water fountains made Corriene instantly feel relaxed. It was a far cry from the dark, dusty and dingy engine room she'd been working in all day. Looking around and seeing all the men and women in their long flowing dresses and tunics Corriene smiled to herself finding it comical at how much she was at odds with the surroundings. As she started to try and work out where she needed to head an eruption of laughter and giggles caught her attention. Turning, she folded her arms across her chest and cocked her hip as she watched Jim Kirk walk towards her, a woman hanging off each arm. He hadn't spotted her yet so Corriene watched bemused as the red head and blonde hung off his every word, stroking his arm and jokingly slapping his chest as he seemingly said something risqué.

Corriene chose that moment to drop her tool bag, making a loud clanging sound on the marble floor. Kirk's eyes shot up and at once made contact with her. Daintily wiggling her fingers at him in acknowledgement, her eyebrow arched expressively. Kirk waved back gingerly and tried, unsuccessfully, to pry his arms away from the two women. As they approached Corriene kept up the façade.

"Captain Kirk." She addressed him formally, he was seemingly at a loss for words and Corriene was loving every moment of it. "Please would you introduce me to your new acquaintances?"

"Of course, this is El'ra and… umm…?" The woman stared at him blankly.

"Ty'la" She offered.

"Of course! My apologies." Kirk went quiet again and stared between the three women.

"My name is Corriene Lees." Corriene ended up introducing herself, holding out her hand. El'ra approached and took her hand softly.

"I have learnt that this is how you greet one another from Captain Kirk, I'm afraid I made the mistake of using our own customary greeting when we first me." The woman smiled sweetly.

"Oh? What's that?" As soon as she asked the question she saw Kirk wince in anticipation.

"We kiss." El'ra answered, Corriene slowly looked from Kirk back to the woman.

"I don't think an apology is necessary, I'm sure Captain Kirk muddled through somehow."

When they had finished their very pleasant conversation about what exactly Corriene did on the Enterprise, the talks between the Federation and their planet and an invitation to dinner Kirk and Corriene made their way out of the building.

"So, how was your day?" Kirk's voice was nervous, he still wasn't sure what kind of woman Corriene was when it came to some of the basics. He'd never given thought to the prospect of her being a jealous woman, she'd never acted in that way but he wondered whether or not they had been in a scenario where that side of her character could perhaps come out? When he had spotted her she was displaying signs of possessiveness and annoyance, but the cocked brow and wry smile made him think she was just mocking him.

"Not as good as yours it would appear?!" Corriene answered, purposely clipped.

"They're a very…" Kirk searched for the right word, "Sociable people." Corriene had had her fun, turning and stopping she laughed at him and pinched the tip of his nose.

"You're a tart Jim Kirk."

"A what?" Kirk looked at her in shock, but relieved that she was obviously not the slightest bit bothered with the fact that he had had two beautiful women hanging off his arms moments earlier. When he'd seen her, covered in dirt and oil and looking strong and capable and beautiful he had fallen in love with her even more than he thought possible.

"A tart, a flirt." Corriene explained.

"I do not flirt!" Corriene barked with laughter.

"Whatever you say Captain Kirk, you do realise I was warned against you months before we got together?"

"I honestly don't know where this preconception of me came from?" Kirk shook his head seriously.

"Jim, you're kidding me right?! Even I heard the folklore tales of one James T Kirk at the Academy. You're a legend." Kirk's face turned from insulted to the biggest beaming smile she'd ever seen.

"A legend?" He repeated, clearly happy with the moniker.

"Oh shit! I'm never going to hear the end of this am I?" Corriene closed her eyes in despair, Kirk wrapped his arm round her shoulders and pulled her in to his side.

"A legend." Kirk repeated after maybe ten minutes of them walking in silence.

"Dick."

* * *

As Corriene got out of the very long shower she had just taken she gratefully took the towel Kirk was holding out to her as he leant against the doorway.

"Thank you." She stepped out and squeezed her hair of excess water with her hand. "When did you get back?"

"About twenty minutes ago."

"You've been stood there the whole time?"

"Long enough." Kirk answered as he handed her a smaller towel for her hair.

"Thank you." Corriene repeated, looking at him suspiciously.

"Anytime." He replied, his eyes growing dark with desire. She purposely didn't wrap the towel around her, instead choosing the slowly pat her skin dry with one corner of the material. Looking up through her lashes she smiled flirtatiously at him.

"Can I help you with something?" She asked innocently, as his arms enveloped her and brought her whole body flush against him he pulled the towels from her hand and let them drop to the floor. Her still wet hair was leaving little droplets on his shirt and Corriene watched as the water seeped into the yellow material.

"You drive me crazy you know that?" He said as the pair gazed at one another.

"I do know that, you tell me every day!" Corriene answered, not really missing the true intention of his statement.

"You know I don't mean it like that, you know exactly what I mean." Kirk collided into her, relishing the feel of her wet skin and hair.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me Jim Kirk." Corriene told him as he lined her collarbone with small kisses. Kirk just hummed in response and as he knelt down in front of her, grabbing her behind and bringing her to his mouth Corriene whistled. "Definitely the best thing to ever happen to me."

* * *

"After this mission, what do you think you'll do? There's no doubt in my mind you could be Chief Engineer Co?" Corriene turned her head on her pillow to look at Kirk who was already facing her.

"I don't know? I haven't really given it much thought; I haven't given any of it much thought since the day I enlisted. I do know that I wouldn't change it for the world, what about you?"

"Being Captain of a Star Ship is in my blood, I started out on a dare but now, now I couldn't think of anything else I'd rather do."

"Your Father would be proud Jim." Kirk looked at her lovingly.

"Thanks Co." Stroking a curl behind her ear Kirk looked at her tenderly. "What about us?"

"We'll make it work." Kirk just nodded, they really didn't need to say any more than that. They both knew that no matter what the future held, wherever in the Universe they ended up, they'd make it work.

 **The End**

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